Ain't It A Fine Life
by mush14meyers
Summary: Sketch's life is saved by the newsies when one finds her in an alleyway. She knows she can't stay with them forever, but it's even harder to leave once she starts to have feelings for a certain Manhattan newsie. My first fanfiction.
1. Chapter 1

Hi there, everyone :) I'm back with a new story... well, _kind of..._

Actually, it's an old story. Way old. The first newsie fan fiction I ever wrote, to be exact :O I wrote it a bazillion years ago. (In reality, it was more like 6 months. But same difference. That was still so long ago)

Please keep in mind, it's not very good... at all. Nor is it that realistic, either. Also notice the lack of newsie/New York accents. ::Gasp:: I know, what was I _thinking_? I figured I'd post it anyway, just for kicks. And also because the main character in this one is my absolute favorite newsie :)

Here's what I'm going to do with this one: It's pretty long, but I don't want to drag this out for a huge amount of time. However, I do have to edit this so it works on this website. I'm going to post about 5 chapters in all, but make each chapter very _very_ long.

As for 'Tell Me How I'm Gonna Make Ends Meet.', a few people have asked about a sequel. I'm probably **not **going to write one (at least for the time being) because I'm out of ideas, so it'll probably just end up ruining it lol. I guess the story's no fun if I fill in all the lines, anyway. At least this way you guys have some of it left up to the imagination :)

So anyway, hope you enjoy this one.

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I slowly opened one of my eyes and tried to figure out where I was, but it was no use. As soon as I tried to look around, I felt a throbbing pain in my head. I could tell I was lying on my back on a cold, hard surface, but I had no idea where. I tried to recall what had happened, but I couldn't remember a thing.

I couldn't think straight, so I just put my head down as lightly as I could. Still, the impact on the back of my head made a sharp pain surge through my entire body. The world around me felt like it was spinning. I groaned and shut my eyes, trying to block out this entire thing.

I was unaware of time. I just sat there completely dazed, as time passed. It could have been a minute or an hour, but I couldn't tell the difference. Then I heard a voice. "Hello?" The voice sounded very far away, and had a hint of panic in it. I ignored it, figuring I was just hearing things. "Hello?!" It said again. This time the voice was scared. It sounded like a boy. Whoever it was lightly shook my arm and I groaned. "Oh god, you're alive..." The voice sounded relieved.

I felt someone lift me up from underneath my arms. They propped me up into a sitting position and dragged me over to a wall. I was now sitting against another hard surface, and my brain was throbbing from just sitting up.

It took all the energy I had, but I finally opened my eyes. It took a moment for the area to stop spinning and for my eyes to finally adjust. There was a boy kneeling in front of me, inspecting a cut I had on my shoulder. He was wearing a blue newsboy cap, and a grey shirt.

"Are... Are you alright?" he asked me. I tried to say something, but my voice got caught in my throat. I realized that it was dry and scratchy, like I hadn't drank anything in a few days. _oh god... How long have I been here?_ I thought.

He reached up and lightly touched a spot under my eye. I flinched slightly. "Sorry..." He said. "How did this happen?" I shook my head, indicating that I didn't know. By this time, small clips of what happened started to return to my brain, but I was too tired to remember the rest. Forget having to explain it.

My senses began to come back to me and I took in my surroundings. I was outside, sitting against a stone or brick wall. A cobblestone material covered the ground. There were some ladders attached to buildings across from where I was sitting. The alleyway was dark, but the sky told me it was either early morning or dusk. I suddenly realized how cold it was, and I noticed that I was shivering.

"Here, come on..." he said, pulling me to my knees. I barely had enough strength to sit up, and every time I moved the least bit I would feel pain in my head. "I don't know if you're going to be alright." He said. "We should get you somewhere... That's a pretty nasty gash you have on your head there..."

I slowly raised my hand to my forehead, scared to see how bad it was. If the actual gash was equal to the pain I was feeling, I would need stitches of some kind. I touched the wound and looked at my hand. It was covered in blood. I began to feel really dizzy again and I fell forward.

He caught me in his arms and stood up, bringing me to my feet. I was on the verge of passing out and I knew it. I was doing everything I could to stay awake. I know it sounds a little dramatic because at the time I was a bit out of it, but I was afraid that if I passed out again I wouldn't be waking up.

My body went limp in his arms and my feet began to drag on the hard cobblestone. "Blink! Race?! Skittery! You guys, help me!" He started to walk towards the opening of the alleyway, dragging my feet along as my head rested on his chest.

After about a minute I heard quick footsteps on the ground and panting. "What's going o... Who is that? Is she alright?!" I heard someone ask. It was another boy, except he had a heavy New York accent. I didn't have the strength to open my eyes. "I don't know... Look, just get help. She's in really bad shape, We have to get her to the lodging house." The boy holding me said. "Alright..."the other one replied. I heard him leave and everything went black.

-----

I heard voices around me. They were all male voices and there were about 5 or 6 of them. I could tell they were carrying me. There were 2 supporting my body near my head, and 2 or 3 near my feet.

_Watch it, watch it!! You're gonna drop her!_

_C'mon, we gotta get her up the stairs._

_Spot, come help us!_

_What the... What happened!?_

_Oh god, this is bad..._

_Hurry! She's bleeding like crazy!_

_Someone go get Kloppman!_

_I'm on it... _

_Dutchy, get some ice and a bandage! Quick! _

_Is she gonna be alright?_

_I don't know... _

Then the voices grew fainter and I was left in blackness again. This would happen every once in a while. I would hear people around me, conversations going on, but I didn't have enough energy to open my eyes. I had no idea where I was, who was around me, or what time it was. Then it would all fade out.

------

When I first opened my eyes since the time in the alley, the room was bright. Sunlight was coming in from an open window, and so was a cool breeze. My head felt a lot better. It still had a faint constant pain, but I could move without the throbbing. I brought my hand to my forehead and felt a bandage.

I looked around the room and saw wooden bunks. They were in rows, tons of them all lined up against the wall. I was lying in one, with a pillow behind my head.

There were hooks on the walls with clothing hanging from them, and at the end of the room was a door that led to another area. I couldn't see well from where I was, but I noticed a counter and some sinks. _Where am I?_

I heard movement coming from the far side of the room. Slowly, I turned my head and saw a guy putting something into a dresser drawer. He was facing the other way, but he was blonde and tall. When he heard me move, he spun around to face me.

I noticed he had an eye-patch on his left eye. He walked towards me quickly. "You're up! How do you feel?" He asked. "I'm... uh... confused?" I said. My voice sounded really dry and raspy. "Nah, I mean how's your head?" he replied, smiling. "It's... better? Where am I?" I said, trying to sit up. Thank God I remembered the kid in the alleyway, otherwise I would have been freaking out. I had a basic understanding of what happened. He found me and brought me here to make sure I was okay. I didn't have any of the details, like where this place was or who he was, but I would find out soon enough.

"Mush'll explain all of that... Oh! I gotta go get him! He's gonna be thrilled when he finds out your up. I'll be right back." He said, moving towards the door.

"Wait!" I said. He turned and looked at me. "Who's... 'Mush'?" I said questioningly. "Only the guy who practically saved your life. Hasn't left your side for the past 2 days. The only reason he's gone now is because the guys forced him to go get somethin' to eat. Wouldn't go till I promised to look after ya, though." He said, smiling. He walked out the door and I could hear his footsteps disappearing down the stairs.

A few minutes later, the door opened and the boy from the alley came in. "You're awake!" he said, jogging towards me. He filled up a glass of water from the other room and handed it to me. "Thank you." I said, taking it. "Are you feeling better?" he asked as I took small sips out of the glass. I shook my head. He sat on the side of my bed.

"You're Mush I'm guessing?" I said. It was difficult to get the words out. I was having trouble thinking straight. He smiled and nodded. "I guess Blink told you. I dunno if you remember, but you were in an alley when I found you..." He said. "I remember. Bits and pieces of it, anyway. I was in and out of reality for a while." I replied.

Mush nodded again. "Yeah, you were in pretty bad shape. You've been out cold for almost 2 days now. Could have been longer depending on how long you were in that alleyway. I've been going nuts over here waiting for you to wake up... God, I was so worried." He said. Then he realized how protective he sounded when he hardly even knew me. He turned away, trying to hide the fact that his face was turning a dark shade of pink.

"I... uh... so what's your name?" he asked. I smiled. "Hannah." I replied. He smiled too and looked into my eyes. He had this thing he did where he would look you in the eye when he was talking to you. He would make eye contact and keep it there for the entire conversation. I knew it would be a lot less awkward if I broke the gaze and looked away, but for some reason I couldn't. When I looked into his eyes it made me feel... safe? _Nah... That's stupid. I just met this kid. _I thought. _he did save my life though... I could have died in that alleyway if he didn't find me_. I shook the thought from my head.

"I like that name." he continued. "So Hannah... Why were you there in the first place? What happened?" When I opened my mouth to explain it, I heard a knock on the door from behind us. I looked up and the door was open. Standing in the doorway was a guy. He looked about my age, but he was small. He was wearing a white shirt, brown pants, a hat and suspenders. "Sorry to be interruptin' this little chat here, but Mush... we're all going to get our papes now. Ya coming?" He asked.

Mush shook his head. "Nah, Race. I'm gonna stay here for one more day. But I'll go tomorrow. Promise." Mush replied. "Race" nodded and started to walk out. Then he turned around and said, "Oh, and uh... feel better. I'm racetrack, by the way." I smiled. "Hannah." I replied. He nodded, smiled back, and left.

I turned to Mush. "Why didn't you go?" I asked. I didn't know much about newsies because I never was one, but I did know that if they didn't sell their papes every day, They didn't make a living. He shrugged. "I'd rather stay here." He said. "Why?" I asked, confused. He shrugged again. "You know, just to make sure you're alright and everything. One more day can't hurt."

"What do you mean _one more?_" I asked. He started to blush again. "Well... I couldn't leave you here alone. Someone had to look after ya. So I just stayed at the lodging house." He said. "The...lodging house? Is that where we are?" I asked, confused. "Yep. The Newsboys Lodging House. It's where me and the rest of the guys live. Anyway, so you never answered my question. What happened?" he asked again.

I looked away, trying to avoid the question. I knew if I answered him, he would ask me why I was out alone at night. I never talked to anyone about that. Nobody. I had few people I could call my friends. I liked to be by myself most of the time.

He looked me in the eye again, waiting for an answer, and I knew I couldn't stall any longer. "It was about 11 at night and I was walking around, and... I dunno, I guess a fight broke out near that alleyway. It was one kid against four others. I didn't know the four personally or anything, but I had seen them around before, and they like to start trouble. So I tried to help defend the kid. They grabbed me and pulled me into to the alleyway. I got punched a few times, and then my head smashed into the bricks. Guess the kid got away and I didn't." I explained.

"Why weren't you at home that late at night?" he asked. _Oh god... There it is. _I thought. Well, here goes. Might as well tell him the truth. "Don't have a home." I replied.

Mush nodded and looked away. "If you don't mind me askin', what happened to your parents?" He returned his gaze to me. I've never talked about it before with anyone. I guess because I felt guilty about it. It was, after all, my fault. Something told me I could trust this guy, though. He was the closest thing to a friend that I had. So I took a deep breath and started to explain.

_Flashback _

It was a few years ago. I must have been 11. I lived with my mom and dad in a small apartment in New York City. I got in a fight with them one day. A stupid fight, something that didn't matter much in the first place. But we all got really worked up over it. I was mad and convinced they hated me, so I ran away. I collected all the money I had ever saved, took some food and clothes and left. I found the nearest train yard and hopped one of the freight trains. I stayed in one of the cars that was empty except for a few boxes piled on top of one another.

A few towns over, the train stopped for a little while. Probably to load some cargo. A group of guys were stumbling around the train yards, obviously drunk. One of them found me in the train car. They outnumbered me seven to one. They beat me up, took my money, and left me in the train car. I was out cold, and by the time someone found me in the train car I was at least a state or two out of New York.

When I finally was able to get home, it had been almost two weeks. The apartment was empty, and all our stuff was gone. I had heard that my parents had left to go searching for me. Soon after, another family moved in and I was left homeless. I tried to look for my parents, but I later found out it was useless. I figured I might as well stay in New York City, where I know the area and if my parents ever decide to come back I'd be waiting for them.

I had been in a few orphanages, but I didn't like it there much. They always tried to ask me questions about my past and to tell you the truth, I don't like people being in charge of me. I'd much rather take care of myself. So I would never stay long.

_End Flashback_

Mush just sat there listening. He didn't say a word throughout the entire thing. When I finished, we sat in silence for a few minutes. Then, Mush did something I didn't expect. He moved closer to me and pulled me into a hug. At first I was motionless and my body tensed up. Then he wrapped his arms tighter around me and I relaxed a little, somewhat returning the hug.

When he let go and resumed his spot on the side of my bed, I turned to him and whispered, "Thanks." He raised his eyebrow. "For what?" he asked.

"Everything." I replied. "Saving me, taking care of me, listening to me... I really appreciate everything." I said. I wasn't used to this. For the past few years, I never had to thank anyone. No one ever did anything to help me. To them I was just another homeless orphan kid living in New York City.

-----

Mush and I talked for a few hours. Just sat around, getting to know one another. We talked about tons of things, but mostly about New York City. I found out that his favorite place in New York City was my favorite place in the world. Central Park.

I felt like I had known him longer than I actually did. It was easy to be comfortable around him. He always had that warm smile.

Later, I had something to eat and I was able to get washed up. Since all of the newsies were out selling papes, and Mush went downstairs so I could wash, I was able to take a bath in the area next to the bunk room. Kloppman gave me a toothbrush and soap. Everyone who lived in the lodging house had their own that were provided for them. Not that I lived there, but they were all trying to help me out.

When I had taken a bath, washed my hair, and brushed my teeth, I changed into my pants that had been washed for me. My old shirt was too stained from the blood, so it was thrown out. Mush gave me one of his to wear. Even though it didn't fit him anymore, it was still a little big on me.

When I was finished, I went downstairs like Mush told me to. Halfway down the wooden staircase, I could already hear loud laughing and talking. When I got to the bottom, about 10 or 15 newsies were sitting around on the floor. Some were playing cards, others were just talking. I didn't realize how late it had gotten. It must have been around 6 or 7 PM, because they were all back from selling their papers.

When I got to the bottom of the stairs, a few of them turned their heads and stopped talking. "Uhh... Hi?" I said, a little uncomfortable. Mush quickly stood up from his card game and walked over to me. "Hannah, these are the guys." He said, leading me over to where all the newsies were. "Over here, that's Skittery. This here is Boots." By this time they all started talking again. Mush continued. "That's Jack, Racetrack, Kid Blink. Here's Crutchy, and that's Bumlets. The one with the glasses is Specs, and the _other _one with the glasses is Dutchy. Here's Itey, and that one is Snipeshooter."

_Crap, I'm so horrible with names..._ I thought. I guess Mush read the expression on my face, because he laughed and said, "Don't worry. You'll get all their names down eventually."

"Guys, this is Hannah." He said, introducing me to the rest of them. I smiled. "Oh, so _you're _the girl Mush hasn't stopped talking about." Racetrack said, smirking. He seemed like the wise guy of the group. All the newsies laughed, except for Mush whose face turned really red. "Race!" He growled, punching him on the arm. "Ow! What?" Race asked innocently, grinning and rubbing the spot where Mush punched him. Mush sighed. "Nothing... let's just... go up to the bunk room." He said, shaking his head. I got the feeling that Mush and Racetrack were best friends.

A few hours later, all of us were laughing and joking like we'd known each other forever. They all took turns telling me stories about the times they all had together, and the crazy stuff they would do just to get people to buy their papes. Around 1 AM, my stomach hurt from laughing and I was exhausted. We were sitting around the bunk room playing cards. Race won the third game in a row.

"Alright guys, who's playing again." Racetrack asked. Most of the newsies dropped out and went over to their bunks. "Aw, come on... Alls that's left is Skittery, Mush, and Hannah?" Race said. "Actually, I'm not gonna play anymore either." I said, putting my cards down. "Just gonna watch." I said.

I was sitting on the floor against the side of a bunk. Mush was sitting next to me. The game must have been going on for at least 20 minutes before I started to fall asleep.

------

Mush's Point of View

"Alright, Alright, I give up. Race is just gonna win again anyways!" Skittery said loudly, throwing down his cards and getting up. "Can it, Skittery. You're gonna wake her up." I said, motioning to Hannah. She had fallen asleep about ten minutes ago. She must have heard Skittery in her sleep because she groaned and moved around a little. Her head fell softly onto my shoulder and I could feel her light breathing.

No one else seemed to notice, but Race found it hysterical. He covered his mouth with his hand and tried to stifle his laugh. Soon he just gave up, and began cracking up. "Aw, how adorable is dat?!" He said, sarcastically. "Alright Race. It's not that funny. She's sleeping; she didn't mean to put her head on my shoulder." I said. Race still couldn't stop laughing.

I sighed and shook my head at Race. "Game over. You win... again." I said. I put my cards on the ground and I picked her up. I carried her to my bunk and put her down, covering her with the blanket.

While she was injured Hannah slept in one of the extra bunks. There were newsies that always stayed at the lodging house. I was one of them. There were also Newsies that came and went. Depending on the night, sometimes there were no extra bunks. Tonight was one of those nights.

I lied down beside her, on top of the blanket. I moved as far as I could to the other side of the bed, trying to give her as much room as possible. I looked at the gash on her head that had finally started to heal, and I couldn't help but think that I was so happy to be the one who found her.

-----

Hannah's Point of View

I heard steady breathing coming from behind me. I opened my eyes, but only saw darkness and shadows. Blinking my eyes a few times, I tried to get them to adjust. The dark shapes began to turn into objects, like the bunks and the clothes draped over chairs. Then I realized I was in the lodging house.

_Crap, I must have fallen asleep._ I thought. I was planning on leaving the lodging house that night, before everyone fell asleep. Actually, I was planning on going out to look for my parents again. Sure, I hadn't been that successful last time. But the newsies had reminded me how great it was to be around people that cared about you. The way they would sit around laughing, joking, and talking reminded me of how my family used to be.

To tell the truth, that wasn't the only reason I was leaving. Of course, I wanted to find my parents. But I was leaving because I didn't want to get any more attached to Mush than I already was. Finding my parents was a great excuse to leave and stop myself from growing more attached to him, so I convinced myself I was leaving for that reason. I couldn't depend on other people. I hadn't for the past few years. Falling for Mush meant giving him the power to control every emotion I had. I couldn't let myself do that.

I remembered falling asleep on the floor. How'd I get onto one of the bunks? I rolled over as quietly as I could, trying not to wake him up. I knew it was Mush who next to me before I even saw him.

He was lying on his side facing me with his eyes closed. I could tell he was asleep by his soft breathing. His chest slightly moved up and down every time he breathed. The dim light from the streetlights outside came in through the window. It reflected off one half of his face and made him look so calm.

I had the sudden urge to reach up and touch his cheek. I stopped myself, not wanting to wake him up. It would be so hard if I had to say goodbye in person. I would rather leave him a note explaining things. I found a pile of paper and a pencil in one of the open drawers. I took a small piece and wrote on it:

Mush,

Thanks so much for everything you've done. You saved my life and took care of me and I owe you everything. I have to leave to look for my parents. If I don't go now I don't know if I'll ever find them, but maybe I'll see you if I come back to New York City again. You're the greatest friend I've ever had, Mush, and I'm going to miss you like crazy. I'm sorry I couldn't say goodbye in person. Tell the other newsies and Kloppman I said goodbye and thanks.

Take care of yourself. With love,

Hannah

I put the note on the side dresser next to his bunk. I wanted so badly to hug him, but I couldn't wake him up. Instead, I lightly picked up his hand and held it for a second before letting go. "Bye Mush." I whispered.

I walked over to the doorway, careful not to trip on anything that might be lying on the floor. I turned the doorknob and opened the door as slowly as I could so it wouldn't squeak that loud.

There was a rustling sound coming from behind me. I closed my eyes tight and stayed real still, hoping it was just one of the boys moving in their sleep. I heard someone sit up.

"Where you goin'?" Someone whispered. _Dammit_. I thought. I turned around and saw Skittery sitting up in his bunk. I sighed. "Where ya goin', Hannah?" He repeated. He quietly got up and started walking over to me.

"I can't stay, Skittery. I gotta get going." I whispered. "What...? Why?" He asked. I paused and looked down. "I'm going to look for my parents."

"Didn't you wake Mush to say goodbye?" He asked. "No... I couldn't. I can't. I did leave him a note, though." I tried to explain. Skittery didn't get it. It was easier when Mush was sleeping. He couldn't look at me with those eyes. If he did, I knew it would be even harder to just take off and leave him.

"Hannah, he hasn't left your side for about 3 days. You can't just leave 'em like that. 'specially without sayin' goodbye to him." He said. I was on the verge of tears. "I know... but..." Skittery interrupted me. "It's gonna break his heart."

"Skittery, please... Don't wake him. It's gonna be so difficult." I begged. He sighed and nodded. "Fine." He agreed. "I won't. But that note better be good." I laughed and hugged him.

"It is." I said. "But I forgot something." Skittery let go and looked at me. "What's that?" he asked, confused. "I forgot to put something in that note, so could you do me a favor and tell him for me?" I asked. Skittery nodded. "Sure thing." He said.

"Tell Mush that... that he's..." I paused and thought about it. What was the word I was looking for? _Amazing? Funny? Nice? Or caring? Extremely cute?_ "Perfect." I muttered.

Skittery smirked. "Alright. I'll tell him." He said. I smiled at him. "Thanks Skittery." I said, before I turned and left.

-----

I didn't know how I was going to get out of here. I didn't even know where I was going, but I had to start somewhere. I figured I would hop a ride on a freight train again. It was the fastest, cheapest way to get anywhere, and I didn't have more than a few dollars to my name.

I know... That didn't work so great for me last time. Actually, it was how this all started. But this time I promised myself I would protect myself. I would be on my guard the whole time. Besides, I was older now. I could protect myself... I hope.

Before I left, I had to do one thing. I had to visit Central Park. I didn't know how long it would be before I got to see my favorite place again. I came in through the gates and walked on a path for a while.

I stared up at the sky. It was a dark blue color. As I looked towards the east, the sky became lighter and lighter. It blended into light blue, until my eyes hit the horizon where the sky was almost pink. I guessed it was around 4:30 AM, because the sun wasn't visible yet.

I walked until I found a certain place. I sat on a bench facing a huge lake.

During the day, the lake was gorgeous. There were families sitting around it, and ducks and swans swimming... But right now, it was even more beautiful.

The lake was completely black. It barely moved, except for a few ripples when the wind blew. I could see the reflection of the moon and a few trees across the lake.

I don't know how long I sat there. It was a summer night, but still a little chilly. I shivered but I refused to get up from where I was. I wanted this to last as long as it could.

I felt a tap on my shoulder and I almost screamed. I gasped and whirled around. I put my hand over my heart and breathed heavily, staring at the person who tapped me. "Mush..." I said, attempting to catch my breath.

"Calm down, just me..." He said quietly, putting his hand on my shoulder. He smiled but it didn't reach his eyes. His eyes looked empty, almost begging.

"How'd you find me?" I asked. "Did Skittery wake you up!?" I demanded. Mush shook his head and looked down at his feet. "I woke up about 20 minutes ago. Skittery didn't say anything, but he sure as hell knew something was going on by the look on his face. When I didn't see you next to me, I found your note and came here."

"How'd you know I would be here?" I asked. "Don't you remember what you told me? You're favorite place in the world." He smiled that empty smile again. "I figured you would come here before you left. I'm just glad I was able to catch you before you were gone completely."

I nodded. I looked everywhere but his face, avoiding his eyes. He sat down next to me. "My turn to ask questions." He said. "Why didn't you tell me sooner? Or wake me up... or something?" He asked. He tried to make himself sound calm, but I could hear that he was upset.

"To avoid this." I said quietly. "I'm not so good with goodbyes." I said, trying to smile at him. My eyes were wet and blurry with tears but I refused to let them fall.

"So maybe you don't have to say goodbye!" he said. "Stay here. You can live in the lodging house."

I shook my head. "I can't, Mush. I don't belong there. I'm not even a newsie." I said. I tried to keep my voice from shaking. "So become a newsie. Sell some papes and save up your money. You can stay in the lodging house for a few weeks. Then when you have enough money to support yourself... then go looking for your parents. But right now you've got nowhere to go. With no money you'll just be wanderin' the streets." He said.

He was right and I knew it. But I couldn't get any more attached to this kid. No way. I was a loner. I did everything by myself. So I had to leave. Now. Before he became the biggest weakness I had.

"No, Mush. I gotta go. Not only to find my parents... For other reasons, too. But I can't explain them now. I'm sorry." I said. I truly meant it, too. He sighed and nodded slowly. "Alright." He said. "Just promise me somethin', okay?"

"What is it?" I asked. "Promise me that this isn't the last time I'll get to see you? Promise me you'll come back or something..."

"Promise." I said. This was what I was trying to avoid the entire time. I couldn't let Mush see me cry. I turned my head away from him and took deep breaths to calm myself down. "I should get going..." I said, standing up. Mush stood up too.

I finally turned to face him. I never realized how tall he was compared to me. He was at least 6 inches taller than me, and I had to tilt my head up to look him in the eye when we stood this close.

Without thinking about it I threw my arms around his neck and pulled him as close as I could. He seemed surprised, but then his arms found their way around my waste, pulling me even closer to him. I put my head against his chest and silently wiped away the tears with my hand.

After a few seconds we broke the hug and I backed away from him. "Bye, Mush." I said, turning and starting to walk away. He waved and stood in the same spot, watching me leave. When I was about 20 feet away from him, I heard him yell, "Hannah?" I turned. "uh huh?" I said, letting the tears fall freely now. He couldn't see me from this far away now anyway.

He shoved his hands in his pockets and looked at the ground. "I... I think..." he stumbled over his words. He stopped and took a deep breath. "Never mind... Just, good luck, alright? With finding your parents and stuff." I nodded. "Alright. Thanks Mush...G'bye." I repeated.

----

Comments? Criticism? Please review :D

Thanks for reading. I'll have a new one out tomorrow.


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the original characters from the movie "Newsies." Hannah, however, is mine.

Hey everybody :D

So I was reading over this while editing the spelling mistakes and stuff... and you have no idea how tempting it was for me to change everything. Did you guys notice how every single sentence starts with "I"? Bah! It's driving me crazy! And the lack of newsie accents?! It's an outrage!! An outrage, I tell you!

Woah. Sorry. ::Takes a few deep breaths.::

However, I'm not going to change anything but the obvious grammar and spelling mistakes, no matter how poorly written some parts of this are. Guess every writer has to start somewhere, right?

Thanks for the reviews. You guys are way cool.

Aaannddd now that that's said and done, enjoy.

--START--

It was a really long walk to the train yards. Longer than I remembered. It took me about an hour and a half to get there on foot. When I finally did, the sun had been up for a while. It turned out to be a cloudless, warm summer day.

The train yard was empty of trains, except for a few older ones than had broken down and didn't work anymore. A new freight train would come every hour. They would load up boxes of cargo and the train would take off again.

I was leaning against a pile of lumber, waiting for a train to come. I heard voices coming closer. I quickly crouched behind one of the wood piles, and listened. Peeking out from the cracks between the lumber, I saw two workers whose job it was to load the cargo onto the trains.

"Next train broke down at da last station. We're off until da one afta' dat comes." One of the workers said. "Great. That gives me a while, I'm gonna walk into town for a bit." The other one said, as he waved and left towards town.

"'Scuse me, sir..." I said, stepping out from my hiding place. The first worker turned around. "Do you know the time?" I asked.

"Sure thing, kid." He said as he took out his pocket watch. "It's uhh... ten after eight." He said. _8:10... That means I just missed the 8 o'clock train. The 9 o'clock train broke down and isn't coming. That means I have to wait for the train at 10:00_! I thought.

"Thanks." I replied, walking away before he realized that I was planning to hop one of the trains.

"Hey! Wait a second!" _Crap._ I thought, turning around. "Yes, sir?" I asked. "What's ya business bein' here anyway?" he asked. I shrugged and shoved my hands into my pockets. "Just goin' for a walk. Needed to know how long I had 'til I had to be home for lunch." I said casually. One thing I was great at: Lying. I had gotten a lot of experience while living on the streets. I could make up stories on the spot and I almost always got away with it.

"Oh... alright then." He said, obviously convinced. He turned and walked away. When he was out of sight I found a good hiding place where he wouldn't see me. Since the next train wasn't coming for a few more hours, that gave me plenty of time to think. i _Great... I already have enough on my mind._ I thought. _Time to think is the last thing I need right now. _

When the train came, I hopped on one of the cars that was towards the back and had a lot of boxes already. That way, they wouldn't load much more cargo in it. And if they did for some reason, I could choose between tons of hiding spots.

I climbed in and lied down between some boxes. The car was dark and cool. I was exhausted from all the walking and I only got a few hours of sleep the night before. I probably fell asleep around 1 and I must have been out of the lodging house by 4. Still, I didn't dare fall asleep. I couldn't let my guard down again, or I might end up jumped and out cold, dozens of towns away like last time.

I didn't wanna sleep anyway. Every time I closed my eyes I saw Mush. His eyes. That smile. The heartbreaking look he gave me that morning. The first time I saw him in the alleyway. It was useless. I couldn't stop thinking about him.

My train of thought was broken when I heard the car door open even wider. Workers started loading more boxes into the car. I quietly inched my way to the back where they couldn't see me.

"This is the last one, Al." I heard one of the workers say. "Tell him he can start up the train." The huge metal door slid closed with a loud crash, and all the memories of running away the first time came back to me.

I heard the train start up, and the freight car started to shake slightly. _This is it. Soon I'll be away from here. I can find my parents and start off new somewhere else. I don't have to worry about being tied down in New York City anymore. By poverty, or by orphanages, or by people..._ As soon as I had that thought, Mush came back to my mind.

_No, Mush tied me down._ I thought, trying to push him out of my head. _He meant well, but he had the ability to make me so much weaker. He had the ability to control every emotion I was feeling_.

The train started to move. No turning back now.

Then I realized. Yeah, Mush _did_ make me a weaker person. But deep down, I didn't care. He had the ability to, but I trusted him not to. I cared about him more than I had cared about anyone in a long time. He could emotionally hurt me in a flash, but I knew he would never would purposely.

I had to get off this train. Who knew where the next stop would be? It could be hours or days away depending on where the cargo had to be dropped off. I stood up and began to move to the door, but I was thrown down again by the speeding up of the train. I held onto the inside wall of the car and pulled myself to the door. Using all my strength, I heaved the door open. When it unlocked, it flew open and slid as far back as it could go.

"HEY! YOU CAN'T DO THAT!" I heard a worker scream as the train passed by a group of them.

"How'd she get in there!?

"I thought you checked all the cars!"

"What happened to just going for a walk!?"

"Someone get her!"

The train was moving fast at this point. Not at full speed, but in a few seconds it would be. If I was gonna jump without getting injured, I had to do it now. If the train got any faster and I tried to jump, I would break something.

I looked down at the passing grass next to the tracks. It looked like it was going by a million miles an hour. I closed my eyes as tight as I could. "Oh God oh God oh God..." I mumbled. I pushed my feet off from the edge of the car at the opening, and held my legs close to me. I hit the grass with a loud thud and rolled about 5 or 6 times before I stopped, sprawled out on my back. Quickly, I examined my arms and legs to make sure nothing was broken. I was fine.

I heard yelling from behind me, and I sat up and turned around. 3 or 4 of the train workers were running towards me. "Hey! It's illegal to jump freight trains, you know!!" One of them said. "Someone get her!" In no time I was up on my feet and running like the wind. "Get back here!" They screamed.

I ran straight into a wooded area. Swiftly hopping over fallen branches and dodging trees, I was able to lose them in about 15 minutes. I stopped to catch my breath, and then kept walking straight. Soon enough I was out of the woods and on my way back to Manhattan. If I hurried, I could be back in New York City before dark.

----

Kid Blink's point of View

The headline was great that day. I bought 50 papes and was able to sell them all by about 5 PM. I got some dinner with the days earnings and I was one of the first to get back to the lodging house.

When we got back from our routes, we would usually hang around in the lobby waiting for everyone else. We would rarely spend time in the bunk rooms except at night before we would go to sleep.

Jack and Dutchy were there when I got back from my route. " 'ey ya, Blink." Jack said. "How's it goin', Jack?" I answered, waving to Dutchy and sitting down on the couch.

Mush came in next. He had a blank look on his face didn't say a word to us. He looked so tired and worn out. Mush walked past us to the far end of the room. He sat against a wall and let his head fall backwards onto the wall.

The three of us exchanged confused looks.

Crutchy came back with Skittery, and soon after Bumlets, Specs, Itey, Snipeshooter, and Boots showed up. I pulled Skittery away from the conversation. "Skittery, you know what's up with Mush?" I asked. Skittery looked around to make sure no one was listening, before he leaned in. "Hannah left. For good. Mush's takin' it real hard." He whispered.

"Wow..." I said. "I've never seen him that down before." Somehow, within 20 minutes everyone knew why Mush was upset. Everyone knew that Hannah had left. Of course we were all gonna miss her. But not half as bad as Mush was going to. We'd never seen him look at anyone before the way he looked at Hannah.

Race got back when it started to get dark, hours after the rest of us. He must have stopped by the races after he finished selling. "Wow Racetrack. Took ya long enough to sell all yer papes." Specs said, teasing him. "I went to the races after I was done!" Race said, laughing. "Sure... whatever ya say. We all know you're the slowest seller here." Boots joked. All the newsies laughed. The truth was, Race was one of the fastest. And he never let us forget it.

"I'll soak ya!" Race yelled. He playfully jumped on Specs' back and pretended to punch him. Everyone watched amused while they wrestled each other to the ground. All the newsies gathered around them and cheered. They weren't serious or anything, just horsing around.

I looked over at Mush. He wasn't even watching. He was still sitting against the wall looking up at the ceiling the way he had been hours ago. He seemed to be in deep thought.

"I'm gone for a day and you guys are already fighting each other again." We all looked up. Even Specs and Race stopped. Hannah was standing near the doorway with her arms crossed. She had a smirk on her face.

"Hannah!"

"What're you doin' here!?"

"She's back!" Everyone yelled, running over to her.

Hannah's Point of View

The guys all came over and formed a circle around me. They asked me question after question. Everyone was talking at once.

I looked around at everyone's faces. Crutchy, Race, Skittery, Specs, Jack... everyone was there. Except for Mush.

Then I saw him. He was across the room sitting against a wall. He was staring at me with his mouth open a little. His eyes were full of confusion and shock.

I pushed my way through the guys and walked slowly over to Mush. I stopped about 5 feet from him. He stood up and looked at me, his eyes never leaving mine. "What're you doing here?" he asked. There was confusion in his voice.

"I decided I would take you up on your offer." I said, smiling. His eyes lit up. "You mean... stay here? Become a newsie?" He asked. I grinned and quickly shook my head up and down.

He wrapped his arms around my waist and pulled me towards him. Then he lifted me up off the floor. "Mush!" I screamed. "Put me down!" I yelled through laughter. "Alright." He said, loosening his grip like he was going to drop me on the floor.

"No don't drop me!!" I yelled, throwing my arms around his neck so he couldn't let me fall. I shut my eyes tight and held onto him. He laughed. "I would never drop you." He said quietly to me before he lowered me to the ground. I let my hands slide down from around his neck so they were on his shoulders.

His hands were still around my waist. We stood still, looking at one another and smiling.

"Ahem." One of the guys cleared their throats. I noticed how quiet the room had gotten. I whirled around, forgetting that the others were there the whole time. They all stood staring at us. They all had huge smirks on their faces and their arms were crossed or on their hips. I could feel my face burning and I moved away from Mush.

They all snickered. "Alright. If these two are done flirting now... I think Hannah needs a nickname. Since she is a newsie now and all." Race said. I gave race a look that said "thank you." I was grateful for the distraction... although I could have done without the flirting comment.

Everyone else's nickname had something to do with their personality, looks or interests. Most of the guys didn't really know my personality too well and there was nothing about my looks that stood out enough to make a nickname out of it. That left interests. "Hannah, what do you do when ya got time?" Blink asked. "What do you mean?" I replied.

"What do you do for fun?" He rephrased it. "hmm..." I thought about it. For the past few years the only thing that had been on my mind was finding food and a place to sleep. "I haven't done anything for fun in a really long time. Not since I've lived with my parents." I immediately regretted saying that. What if they asked about why I didn't still live with my parents? Mush was still the only one who knew the story. Luckily, they were too busy trying to find a nickname.

"What did you used to do when you lived with your parents, then?" Boots asked. I tried to remember.

"I used to love to draw. I used to go to Central Park almost every day with paper and a pencil and just sketch what I saw." I replied.

"Hmm... Sketch. Whadda ya guys think?" Skittery said. They all nodded and muttered their opinions. The newsies all seemed to like it. "Whadda you think, Hannah? You like Sketch?" I smiled. "Sure. Sounds good." The truth was, I didn't even care what the nickname was. The point was I had a nickname. That meant I was one of them. I finally belonged with people... I was part of a group of friends.

-----

I had been lying awake for over two hours. I knew I should be getting some sleep. Mush and the rest of the newsies we're gonna get up early to show me the ropes, give me some tips on selling papes, and find me an angle.

I couldn't sleep no matter how hard I tried. Too much was on my mind, I guess. I was wondering about stuff. Above all, thought, I wanted to know what Mush was going to say to me before I left for the train yards.

_He shoved his hands in his pockets and looked at the ground. "I... I think..." he stumbled over his words. He stopped and took a deep breath. "Never mind... Just, good luck, alright? With finding your parents and stuff." I nodded. "Alright. Thanks Mush...G'bye." I repeated._

I sighed and rolled over, shutting my eyes. I kept my eyes shut for a long time, trying to allow sleep to come to me. It wouldn't. I had a strange feeling that I wasn't the only one who was awake.

I heard someone tossing and turning in their bed. I was right. I wasn't the only one who couldn't sleep. Soon I heard them getting up from their bunk, but I didn't open my eyes. I figured it was just one of the guys going to the bathroom or something.

The side of the bed that I was facing sank down slightly. Someone had sat next to me on my bed. Still, I didn't open my eyes. Whoever it was thought I was asleep.

He lifted up his hand and moved a strand of hair that was hanging over my face. He tucked it behind my ear. Then, barely even touching me, he rubbed my cheek softly with his hand. I opened my eyes.

It was Mush. Obviously, I didn't expect anyone else but I was still surprised. Why was he doing that? I finally admitted it to myself. I liked him. A lot. But something told me it wasn't possible for him to like me back...

When he saw my eyes open, he pulled back his hand. "I- I'm sorry... I didn't... mean to wake you. I didn't realize that-...Sorry." He whispered. He blushed and got up to walk away, but I grabbed his wrist. "It's okay. I was already awake." I whispered.

He looked at me for a second and then looked away. "That's even worse." He muttered, avoiding my gaze. I laughed. "Come sit down. I can't sleep." I said. "Neither can I." He replied. "So talk to me." I said, motioning for him to sit back down.

Neither of us mentioned what just happened. Mush seemed embarrassed and I didn't want to make anything awkward. So we just talked about other stuff. We kept our voices down so none of the other newsies would wake up.

All night, the newsies had started calling me Sketch. It had already stuck. But while Mush and I were talking, I noticed something. Mush always called me Hannah. It didn't bother me or anything, but I was a little curious as to why.

Mush was sitting up against the headboard, but his legs were up on the bed. As we talked, my eyelids started to feel heavy. I closed my eyes, and soon enough we both just stopped talking. I wasn't sure if he was asleep, but I didn't want to check. I was afraid that if he was and I woke him, he would leave to go back to his bed. I felt comfortable and safe with him next to me. And then I fell asleep.

----

Mush's Point of View

I felt someone shaking my arm. "Mush... Mush?" I heard my name being whispered from beside me. I opened my eyes and saw Hannah lying next to me. It took me a second to remember I fell asleep on her bunk.

Hannah's eyes were closed, but she was still saying my name and shaking my arm. Was she asleep? "Yeah?" I whispered.

"I gotta tell you something." She said. She was mumbling and her words were hard to understand, so I guessed that she wasn't fully awake at all. "Okay... What is it?" I whispered.

She paused for a few seconds and slightly nestled herself further underneath the blankets. Then she was still again. I listened to her light breathing. "I'm falling for you." She said underneath her breath. "What...?" I asked, not sure if I heard right. I gave her a few seconds to respond, but she didn't. She had fallen back asleep.

I sighed and looked outside. The sky was light, so I guessed it was early in the morning. I got up and went back to my bunk to get about an hours worth of sleep before I had to get up again. I didn't want to leave Hannah's side, but if the guys woke up and found me sleeping next to her in her bunk, they'd give me hell for weeks.

When Kloppman came to get us up he was yelling at me for ten minutes before I got out of bed. I was exhausted from staying up all night talking to Hannah. The newsies also noticed that Hannah, who was usually a light sleeper, was particularly hard to wake up that morning.

"So... Looks like ya didn't get much sleep last night, Mush. Any particula' reasons?" Race asked, smirking at me and looking towards Hannah who was still in bed. "Put a lid on it, Race." I said, grabbing my clothes and leaving to get dressed.

We all helped out Hannah since it was her first day as a newsie. She sold her papes around Central Park with me, Race, Blink and Skittery. She got 20 papes and sold them all, which isn't bad at all for her first day.

She didn't bring up last night at all. It wasn't as if she didn't have any opportunities to, neither. There were plenty of times, at least 2 or 3, where me and Hannah were left alone. The other guys went to cover separate parts of the park. Still, she didn't say a word about it. I guessed she didn't mean what she said, then. She was obviously half-asleep and completely out of it when she said she had fallen for me. I doubt she even remembered it.

I was really disappointed to be honest. Almost heartbroken, even. There I was, thinking maybe she felt the same way. Then again, I wasn't surprised . She could do so much better than me.

-----

Hannah's Point of View.

After we all finished our routes, we went to the restaurant to celebrate. We used pretty much all our money we earned from the day, but it was worth it. I had so much fun.

We pulled about 3 or 4 tables together and sat in a huge group. There were about 10 or 15 of us. "Ya did great today, Sketch." Crutchy said. "Thanks." I replied, smiling. "Yeah Sketch. You're a natural. Soon you'll be as good as Jackie Boy, here." Spot joked, smacking Cowboy on the back. "Whoa, cool it Spot. Let's not get too carried away." Jack replied. Everyone laughed.

When we finished eating, Spot left to go back to Brooklyn and the rest of us walked back to the lodging house. Usually we would go inside, but it was a really warm night. Instead we sat outside on the stairs and on the curb. Skittery found a wooden ball on the side of the street, so we started to play a great game of "beat the crap out of everyone just to gain possession of the ball." I know, it doesn't sound too fun. But there wasn't much to do around there. We didn't have any money to spend, so we had to make our own fun. After about a half an hour, I was really worn out so I sat on the stairs and just watched for a while.

Mush got possession of the ball and they all tackled him to the ground. I watched him as he had a laughing fit and tried to crawl away from the others. It was no use. They all jumped on top of him and took the ball, running off the other way. Mush stood up and brushed his clothes off.

He looked up and saw me staring at him with my chin in my hand. I quickly got rid of the half-smile on my face and turned away. All day he had been treating me the same as always. He didn't mention what happened because he didn't remember what I said last night. He was probably too tired when I told him. I still couldn't believe I had said it. I woke up and just decided to tell him I was falling for him. Really stupid idea. Even though I was half asleep, I meant every word of it.

Never make decisions like that when you first wake up. You'll end up regretting it. I've heard that during the first 10 seconds after you wake up, you're more disoriented than you can get with any amount of alcohol. I lucked out. He was still clueless.

He walked over to me and sat down next to me. "You're not gonna play anymore?" I asked. He shook his head. "Nah. I think I've been tackled enough for one day." He said, smiling. _God, I love that smile..._ I thought.

We sat in silence for what seemed like a long time, just watching the other guys run back and forth. Suddenly he turned to me. "Hannah..." he said. "Yeah?" I replied.

He took a deep breath. "Look, I don't wanna make stuff awkward, but I gotta know. And if you don't know what the hell I'm talking about, tell me and I'll drop it. But did you mean what you said last night?"

"You... You remember? I thought you were asleep..." I said. He laughed. "I thought YOU were asleep." He replied. It became silent again. _We were both waiting for the other person to say something first. We both thought the other didn't remember... That's why neither of us brought it up... _

I wanted him to know. It didn't matter whether he felt the same or not. "Every word of it." I said quietly. "What...?" he asked. I inhaled. "I meant every word of it." I repeated.

I faced forward and refused to look directly at him. He lifted my chin up with his finger and turned my head so I had to look into his eyes. He inched towards me until his arm was touching mine.

Then he leaned in towards me, still keeping our eye-contact locked. The space between our faces was getting smaller and smaller, until at the last second he shut his eyes and his lips were on mine. He placed one of his hands on my cheek.

A few seconds into the kiss, I realized that the guys had stopped yelling. There were no more quick footsteps on the sidewalk, which meant they had stopped running.

All of a sudden, I heard a "whoa!" Then they burst out into wolf-whistles and laughter. Mush sighed and broke away. He nervously rubbed the back of his neck. "That... That's definitely a moment-ruiner." He said. I smiled and felt my face start to get hot.

We reluctantly turned stood up and turned towards the others, who had started a round of "Mush and Sketch sitting in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G..." Racetrack quieted everyone down. "Alright, Alright! They kissed. Pay up, everyone. I was 100 right. C'mon, c'mon." He yelled over everyone. A few of the newsies groaned and reached into their pockets.

"RACE!!" I yelled. He turned innocently to face Mush and I. Mush looked at him with a shocked expression. "You bet on us... on us..." Mush couldn't finish the sentence. All the newsies were waiting for him to say it. "well, that!? You bet on that!?" he finished.

"What can I say?" Race smirked. "I knew it was comin'." He said. Mush let out a nervous laugh and dropped down to a sitting position again on the steps.

----

The circulation bell rang and the gates opened. All the newsies crowded into the enclosed area. While we stood online to get our papes, Mush and I exchanged glances. I hadn't had a chance to talk to him about what happened the day before.

Honestly, I couldn't get near him. Every time I tried to talk to him one of the other guys would make a comment about the kiss. So we sort of just avoided one another. I reached the desk and guy standing behind it asked, "How many?" I put my money down on the surface. "50." I replied. He handed me my papers and I started to walk away.

I figured I would be selling alone since Mush and I couldn't spend time together without being tortured. I was just about out of the gates when I felt a hand on my shoulder. I turned and saw Mush. "Can we talk?" he asked. I nodded.

He grabbed my arm and walked quickly, bringing me somewhere. When he finally stopped, we were at a harbor. Steam ships passed and the air was filled with the sound of boat horns and seagulls. The harbor was one of the busiest places in the city. Men were loading wood and other cargo onto boats from the docks.

I followed Mush to a less-busy area. The breeze was cool and felt good against my face. It was a really hot day out, and the salty smell of the water was refreshing. Mush sat down on the edge of one of the docks and motioned for me to join him.

I took off my shoes and placed them on my pile of papers so they wouldn't blow away. Then I sat down beside Mush and let my legs dangle off the dock. It was low tide, so my feet didn't reach the water.

I thought sitting in silence would be awkward, but for some reason it wasn't. Even after what happened, I still felt comfortable with Mush. I just hoped that Mush wouldn't start treating me different. We were already off to a bad start, since we had only spoken a few words to one another since this whole thing started.

I just sat there, swinging my legs over the water. I got used to the rhythmic sound of the small waves crashing against the wood pier. Since we were farther away now, the busy sounds of boats and people were still there, but they sort of faded into the background.

I looked over at Mush. He kept his eyes on a certain spot in the water, and he seemed to be in thought. He was searching for the right words.

Mush opened his mouth to say something, but then he closed it again. I laughed at him. "What?" he asked, smiling. I shook my head. "Nothing." I said. He shrugged and looked back down at the water. We came here to talk, and yet neither of us had said a word to one another. I thought that was a bit ironic.

Mush took a deep breath and looked up at me. "I'm really sorry about that whole thing, Hannah..." he said.

I gave him a confused look. "What whole thing?" I asked. He had nothing to be sorry for. "You know... about yesterday." He said. He paused for a second and sighed. "The guys are ruthless when it comes to teasin'. I'll tell them that I kissed you so they'll leave you alone." He continued.

I shook my head. "No." I said firmly. "I don't care if they tease me. It really doesn't matter. I kissed you back." I said, smiling at him. He looked me in the eye and blushed.

"Besides, they'll get sick of teasing us soon enough anyway." I said. Mush laughed. "You obviously don't know the other newsies too well. They don't give up." He replied.

I shrugged. "Fine, then let them torture us. I've got nothing to be ashamed of." I said. "Neither do I." Mush said, grinning.

We both returned our gaze to the water and sat there for a while. I had a half-smile on my face that I couldn't seem to get rid of no matter how hard I tried.

Suddenly, Mush picked up my hand and held it. "C'mon, let's go sell these papes." He said, getting up. He pulled me to my feet and reluctantly I let go of his hand to put my shoes back on.

We started walking away from the harbor and back towards the city. I held my newspapers in one hand, but my other swung freely as I walked. Mush grabbed my hand again, but this time he laced our fingers together. I smiled and bit my lower lip. I lowered my head and let my hair fall in my face so he wouldn't see me blush.

----

Since we got a late start on selling our papers, we got back to the lodging house around an hour after everyone else. We opened the door and tried to sneak into the lobby of lodging house without being noticed.

No luck. One by one, they turned around, saw us, and smirked. "So, uhh... Where have you two been?" Skittery asked, grinning. "Selling papers." I answered calmly, taking a seat on the couch.

"Oh? Why are you two so late?" Crutchy joined in. Mush shrugged. "We didn't start right away." He replied, sitting next to me. I hoped they would just go back to their card games and conversations. But of course, newsies never give up.

"Too busy makin' out in an alleyway, no doubt." Race whispered loud enough for everyone to hear. All the other newsies burst out laughing. Mush groaned and let his head drop backwards against the back of the couch, while Race crossed his arms and smirked.

Mush sat up again and put his chin in his hand. He stared at Race, giving him the death glare. Race grinned right back. Mush's facial expression showed that he was mad, but his eyes said otherwise. There was no anger in them. Or aggravation. I don't think Mush minded when Race teased him. They were, after all, best friends.

Shortly after, we went up to the bunks. I got ready for bed, even if I wasn't planning on going to sleep for a few hours. I was exhausted, but I couldn't sleep. See, if two people wanted to stay up, we all had to stay up. Unless you're a really heavy sleeper. Because those guys are LOUD.

I sat against the headboard on my bunk and closed my eyes. The guys were all involved in a conversation a few feet away. "Hey, Sketch?" I heard. I opened one of my eyes and looked over to the other newsies. "Uh huh?" I asked. "You alright?" Kid Blink said. I nodded. "Just tired." I said, closing my eyes again.

A few minutes later, something soft smacked me in the face. It didn't hurt, but I was surprised. I opened my eyes. "Hey!" I said. Mush was standing next to my bed. Even though he was holding a pillow, he innocently looked away and began to whistle.

"Sorry...It was just so tempting." He said. I laughed and moved over so he could sit next to me. He climbed onto the bed and sat against the headboard with me. When our shoulders touched I felt a shiver go down my spine.

The others noticed that Mush had come over to me. They were about to comment on it, but when Mush thought I wasn't looking he mouthed the words, "Not now." To them. They seemed to get the hint and turned back to their discussion.

"Hannah?" He said. "Yep?" I asked. "If uhh..." His voice faded out and he nervously rubbed the back of his neck. "If I... um..." I sighed. "Out with it, Mush." I said.

He took a deep breath." If I asked you to... You know, kind of... be my girl, would you?" I smiled and bit my bottom lip. "Is that a hypothetical question?" I asked. "I dunno..." he said. "Let's just say I asked you... right now. What would you say?"

"Yes." I said "You would say yes?" he asked. I nodded and turned my head to look at him. "Then will you be my girl?" He asked. I grinned and said yes, looking down again.

Mush was smiling really wide. "Uh, we might as well sit with the others." He said, getting up. He leaned in and kissed me on the cheek. "Because they're gonna taunt us whether we're here or there."

Surprisingly, when Mush and I sat down against one of the bunks to join the conversation, none of them said anything. They did, however, have smirks on their faces as they all exchanged glances. Mush sighed. "Alright. I'll bite. What's goin' on?" he asked. They all laughed. "We decided to give you two a break tonight." Boots said.

Mush gave them all skeptical looks, and put his arm around my shoulder. When they didn't say anything and continued on with their conversations he relaxed a little. I put my head on his shoulder.

Just as I was about to fall asleep, Mush nudged me. "Hannah, we're goin' to bed. c'mon. Get up." He said. I was too tired. "I don't wanna." I whined, keeping my eyes closed. "What are ya gonna do, sleep on the floor?" he asked. "Uh huh." I replied, smiling.

"No, you're not." He said. He stood up and my head slid off his shoulder. "Hey!" I said, sitting up before my head hit the floor. Suddenly Mush picked me up and threw me over his shoulder. I screamed because I wasn't expecting it. The other newsies, who were all sitting on their bunks now, seemed amused. "Mush put me down!" I yelled, laughing. He didn't say anything, and I began to squirm. Still, he continued walking to my bunk.

He dropped me on my bed. I laughed and shook my head at him, covering myself with the blanket. "Mush, turn da light off, will ya?" Race asked. "Sure thing, Race." Mush said. "Night, Hannah." He whispered. He kissed me on the forehead and went to turn off the light. I watched him as he went back to his bed and lied down. Even looking at him gave me butterflies in my stomach.

So I didn't have any money. I didn't have a family. I didn't really even have a home. But I was still pretty sure I was the luckiest girl in New York City.

----

So what do you guys think so far? Please review if you can :)

Thanks for reading.


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the original characters from the movie "Newsies."

Heeelllllllloo :) Alright. I don't really have much to say except thanks to the people who have reviewed. I appreciate it so much.

--START--

"Extra, Extra! Gang fight breaks out in Queens! Two found severely injured!" I yelled. A few people walking by quickly rushed to me to buy their paper. "Thank you, sir. Here you go. Thank you."

I loved selling in Central Park. Not only did I love it there, there were always people there as long as it was a nice day. Just as the last person walked away, I felt someone's hands on both my shoulders. I jumped and whirled around. Mush was smirking at me. "Hey." He said. "You like scaring me, don't you?" I asked, returning the smile.

He shrugged. "Couldn't help it. It's pretty amusing." He said. I gave him an angry look and said, "That's not amusing. THIS is amusing."

I swiped his hat off his head. "Hey!" he said, trying to reach for it. But I held it behind me. When he tried to go around me, I started running. "Hannah, you better give me that!" He yelled, running after me. I ran behind a park bench so he was on the other side of it. "Or what?" I asked, smirking and putting on his hat. He stopped moving and smiled at me.

"Or I'll soak ya!" he yelled suddenly, starting to run towards me again. I screamed and ran the opposite way. Eventually he caught up to me and pulled me towards him by the waist. I didn't have the strength to pull away because I was laughing too hard. I tried to squirm away, but he wouldn't let go. Our feet got tangled and we both fell onto the grass.

I rolled over onto my back and tried to get up but he cornered me with his arms. He put one on either side of me and was holding himself up. I was lying on my back and he was hovering about a foot above me. Soon my laughing stopped and I looked up at him. He had a half-smile on his face and he was looking me straight in the eye.

He reached over and took his hat off my head, placing it back on his. We stayed like this, staring at each other, for at least a minute. But it felt much longer than that. My heart was pounding out of my chest, and I don't think it was from running.

He put his hand on my cheek and began to lower himself closer to me. Finally, his lips touched mine and he kissed me softly. I put one of my hands on the back of his neck and the kiss deepened.

I heard a chuckle coming from the right of us. Mush broke the kiss and we both looked over. "What have we hea'? And since when are you two together, huh?" Spot Conlon stood leaning on a tree, with his arms crossed.

Mush smiled and shook his head. He sat up on the grass and said, "Heya, Spot. What are ya doin' here?" I sat up next to Mush.

"Came to see Jack. You seen him?" Spot asked. I shook my head. "Nah, me neither." Mush said. Spot nodded. "Alright. I'll check the lodging house. If ya see him, tell him I'm looking for him."

"Aright." Mush answered. Spot started to walk away and then he turned around. "Oh, and Sketch?" I looked up at him. "Your last names Miller, right?" He asked. "Yeah, why?" I said. "Met a couple named Miller yesterday. Bought some papes from me and we got to talkin', because I'd never seen them around Brooklyn before. Anyway, just thought that was interestin'." Spot said. He shrugged and walked towards the park entrance.

I looked at Mush, and I knew he was thinking the same thing. _Could it have been my parents? Maybe they came back to New York City to look for me..._ Mush read the look on my face. "Hannah, you know... there's a lot of Millers around here." He said. "Yeah, but what if it's them?" I said.

"Spot! Wait!" I said, standing up and running over to him. "Did they say anything about what they were doing there?" Spot shook his head. "No, but they did say they was leavin' in about a week, and they was just lookin' for someplace to stay until then." He answered. _A week would be enough time to search all of New York City... Maybe it is them. Maybe they were planning on coming to Brooklyn, finding a place to stay, looking for me, and leaving if they didn't find me after a week._ "Did they say what their first names were?" I asked.

Spot gave me a confused look. "No... Why does it matta, anyway?" He asked. I remembered that he didn't know about my parents. I sighed. If I needed his help, I was going to have to tell him. Mush had walked over by this time and was now standing by my side.

I looked over at Mush. He nodded as if to say, "You should tell him." Mush grabbed my hand and squeezed it. I quickly retold the story to Spot. I told him how I ran away, and how they had left by the time I came back. When I finished, Spot said, "I'll help ya find 'em, Sketch. I can tell you where all the inns I know about in Brooklyn are. Maybe they're staying at one of them."

------

A combination of the heat and my nerves kept me tossing and turning. It was a really warm night, and the lodging house was extremely hot because of it. No matter what I did I couldn't cool off. I was getting really frustrated because I couldn't sleep. Mush and I had planned to leave for Brooklyn in the morning. We were going to try and find the couple whose last name was Miller. The couple who could be my parents.

I sighed and sat up. The room was dark and completely still. I looked around. All the boys seemed to be asleep. Silently, I crept to the door and opened it. I held my breath and tried to be as quiet as possible. I exhaled and let myself breathe normally only when I was at the bottom of the wooden staircase.

I stepped outside of the lodging house. It wasn't much cooler, but the breeze still felt good. I sat down on the steps in front of the building. I wasn't exactly sure of the time, but judging by the fact that the lights were off in every nearby apartment I would have said it was around 2:30 AM.

I sat with my elbow resting on my knee and my head in my hand. I stared off at nothing in particular, but thoughts were racing through my mind.

I heard the lodging house door creek behind me. I somewhat expected to see Mush, but when I turned around I found it wasn't him. Skittery was standing with the open door leaning against his shoulder. He smiled at me.

"Hey..." I said, surprised. "Hi..." He responded. "I heard you get up. Why ya still awake?" He asked.

I shrugged. "Too hot in there. I couldn't sleep, so I came down here to get some air." I replied. He nodded and sat down next to me, letting the door close behind him.

We were both silent for about a minute or two. "So...how do you like it here? Staying in the lodging house, I mean." He said, breaking the silence. I thought about it. "I like it a lot." I replied. I loved everything about being a newsie. The lodging house, the selling, the friends... and Mush. I was really happy.

From there we started talking. Skittery wasn't one of the newsies I had gotten really close with, but I found out that he was a great guy. He was really friendly and funny, too. We must have talked for about an hour.

"Hey Sketch?" He said, turning to face me. Even though his face was towards me, his eyes refused to meet mine. "Yeah?" I asked. "Do you, uhh... Ya know, judge people easily?" He said. I raised my eyebrow. "What do you mean?"

"Well, like... If I was to tell ya somethin', would you treat me any differently?" He said. I thought about it. "I guess not... Why? What is it?" I asked.  
When Skittery was silent I started to get worried. From the look on his face I guessed it was something bad. "Skittery, what is it? Hey, look at me..." I said.

He reluctantly looked me in the eye. "No... You shouldn't be worried. It's nothing bad... well, it is bad... I mean, for me... I shouldn't... It's wrong of me... but you, you shouldn't be scared or anything because..." He kept tripping over his words.

I stopped him. "Skittery, what are you talking about?" I said. Before I knew what was happening, he put his hand behind my head, pulled me towards him, and kissed me. My eyes were wide open and I was too shocked to pull away.

Very soon after he let go. His mouth was slightly open and he looked shocked with what he had just done. "Oh god..." He said. "Sketch, I'm really sorry..."

Without replying, I quickly turned to face forward again. "I really didn't mean to do that... I swear." He said.

It was quiet for a few seconds, and I knew he was waiting to hear a response from me. "What... just happened?" I asked, slowly. Skittery sighed. "Look. Ever since you got here... I sort of, you know, had this thing for you. But I didn't do anything about it because of Mush. He's my friend and everything..." Skittery gasped. "Oh my God. Mush! Sketch, Please... Please don't tell him! He'll hate me!"

I looked down. I knew I shouldn't keep something like this from Mush... But how was I supposed to tell him? It would mess up things between him and Skittery, and maybe even Mush and me. Skittery _was_ sorry, right? He didn't mean to... he said so. So there wasn't any harm done, right?

"I don't know, Skittery..." I said. Skittery was about to respond but we heard a sudden loud noise come from above us. The loud noise in the silence scared me and my heart skipped a beat. Both of us quickly looked up. Before, all of the windows had been open and now one was closed. I guessed the window falling shut was what had caused the noise, but the windows usually didn't move unless someone touched them... Was someone watching us?

Skittery and I looked down at one another again. "Look, we better get back in there before one of them wakes up. For now, I won't tell Mush anything. I'm not saying I can completely keep this from him, but I won't mention it until we figure something out." Skittery sighed and nodded. "Okay. I understand." He said.

We both stood up and started to go back inside. When we got to the staircase, Skittery stopped me before I could climb up. "Sketch, wait..." he whispered. I turned around. "Honestly, I really am sorry." He said. I made eye contact with him. I could tell that he was completely sincere with what he said. "It's alright." I said. I smiled at him before I turned around and went up the stairs. When we got to the bunks, everyone seemed to be asleep still.

I climbed into my bed and tried to get some sleep.

------

When Kloppman woke us up the next morning, it took me a few seconds to remember what happened. When I did remember, I hoped it was all a dream. When I looked at Skittery, I knew it wasn't. He was staring at me with a lost expression, and when I looked at him he turned away.

Searching around the bunks, I saw everyone was up and getting ready for the day. Except for Mush. I couldn't find him anywhere.

Racetrack was near the sinks washing his face. "Race..." I said, walking over to him. "Have you seen Mush?" I asked. "Left before you got up. Went to buy his papes." He said simply, rinsing the soap off his face. _Hmm... That's weird. The plan was that we weren't going to sell papers today. We were going to leave for Brooklyn first thing in the morning... Maybe he forgot?_ I thought.

"Umm... Alright, I guess I'll go down to the circulation desks to look for him then." I said. "That's... Not such a good idea, Sketch. Think you should leave him alone." Race said, before he walked away to get a towel.

"What are you talking about?" I asked. But Race pretended not to hear me. I ignored Race's warning. I got ready quickly and half walked, half jogged to the circulation office. When I got there, Mush was buying his papers and there was a long line behind him. I squeezed past everyone, saying "'Scuse me. Coming through. Sorry."

"Hey! You!"

"Back of da line!"

"C'mon, get outta here!" They yelled angrily.

I ignored them until I got to Mush. I tapped him lightly on the shoulder. "Hey... I thought we were gonna head to Brooklyn today..." I said. He turned his head to look at me. His eyes looked angry. I had never seen Mush mad before. He was usually always happy and carefree. "Mush... What's wrong?" I asked. He looked back down at the counter and picked up his papes, refusing to answer me. "Mush..." I said again.

"Get to da back of the line!" They kept yelling. I angrily turned to face the crowd. "I'M NOT BUYING ANY PAPERS! ALRIGHT!? SO PUT A LID ON IT BEFORE I SOAK EACH AND EVERY ONE OF YOU! GOT IT?!" I screamed.

They all stopped talking and it was dead silent as they stared at me, completely shocked. I took a deep breath and turned to face Mush again but he had already pushed past me and was walking away.

"Mush!" I said, running after him. When I reached his side he began to speed up, walking faster down the sidewalk. I had to practically jog to keep up with him. He kept his gaze directly forward.

I clutched his upper arm with one of my hands and stopped him. He looked me in the eye. "Hannah, leave me alone." He said angrily. "I don't understand..." I said.

Mush sighed. "Don't play dumb, Hannah." As soon as he said that, the thought snapped into my mind. _He knows what happened with Skittery?_ When Mush saw the blank look on my face, his eyes became even angrier. "And you weren't even planning on telling me... were you?" He said. I lowered my eyes. I wasn't sure if I planning to tell him or not. I didn't think it was worth all the fights it would have started. I had always been able to lie, no matter what the situation. But I couldn't lie to him. He scoffed at me. "Of course you weren't."

He started to walk away. "Wait, Mush. Listen." He didn't even bother turning around to talk to me this time. "Save it. I can't believe you. I've never cared about anyone as much as I've cared about you. And then you go and kiss one of my best friends." He said.

I stopped where I was and watched him walk away. By this time, tears were falling down my face faster than I could stop them. Everything about not depending on people. not letting people see me cry, I didn't care about it then. It didn't seem like it was important. The only thing that was important was getting Mush to listen to me. But he wouldn't. I guess he had it in his head that _I_ was the one who kissed _Skittery_ , not the other way around.

Obviously he didn't have his facts straight. I didn't know how he found out, but I guess it didn't matter anyway. I was leaving. There was no reason for me to stay anymore. Quickly, I went through what I would do in my head. All the money I had made selling papers was with me. I took it before I left because I was planning on needing it in Brooklyn.

Spot already gave me a list of all the Inns in Brooklyn that he knew about. I would go by myself and look for the Miller couple. If I found them and they were my parents, I would explain myself and stay with them. Even if they weren't, there was no way I was coming back here.

I would run away again. Find someplace to stay. Hopefully, I would be successful this time. Third time's the charm, right?

Kid Blink's Point of View

FLASHBACK

I was drifting in and out of sleep. The heat made it hard to fall into a comfortable deep sleep. I thought I heard someone get up, but I was too drowsy to pay much attention to it. A few minutes later, the same thing happened. This time I could hear someone stepping down the wooden staircase. I drifted off into a light sleep before I realized I did.

When I woke up again, I opened my eye and looked to a bunk next to mine. Skittery's bed was empty. Looking around the room, I saw that Sketch's was, too. I shook my head to try and wake myself up. The room was silent, and no one was making any noise... except for...

Muffled voices coming from outside. _What are they doing, sneaking around together this late at night?_ I thought.

I silently walked over to the windows, using the dim lights from outside to guide me. I slipped on a piece of clothing but I was able to catch myself before I hit the floor. Steadying myself again, I made it over to the window.

They were sitting next to one another, talking and laughing. It didn't seem like anything was going on, but I watched them for a few more minutes just to make sure. I felt bad spying on them. Just as I was about to leave and go back to bed, It happened. They kissed... I was completely shocked. How _could she do that to Mush_? I thought. Maybe I wasn't seeing correctly? I put my hand on the glass to cover up the glare on the window.

As soon as I touched the window, it slid shut quickly. It made a loud noise when it stopped, and I ducked under the window. I heard them whispering, and soon they were coming up the stairs. I ran to my bed and pretended to be asleep just as they walked into the bunk room.

I couldn't sleep at all. I guess I felt guilty for some reason for seeing what I did. I didn't know if I should tell Mush or not. It would crush him, but I guess I had to. It would be wrong if I didn't. Around 5:00 AM I woke him up and told him that I saw Skittery and Sketch kissing.

I felt so horrible breaking the news to him. He didn't say much. He just said he was going to buy his papes, got ready quietly and left before anyone else was even awake.

--------

Hannah's Point of View

It took me over an hour to walk to the Brooklyn Bridge. I wasn't sure how long exactly because I didn't have a watch on me.

I wasn't really paying attention to where I was going. I was in sort of in a daze. I just kept walking with my head down and my hands in my pockets. Every once in a while I would look up at the street signs to make sure I was even going the right way. But other than that, I was fine. I knew this part of New York like the back of my hand.

Before I went over the bridge, I stopped and sat down next to it. It really was beautiful here. I didn't know where I going to go if this whole thing didn't work out. All I knew was that I wasn't going to come back to New York City. It would be too hard to know that the thing I wanted most was so close to me but I couldn't go after it.

It was a warm day. The sun was out but dark clouds were starting to form near the horizon. I looked down at the water. The boats and seagulls reminded me of the day at the harbor with Mush. I couldn't take it. Then I was up and moving again.

When I got to Brooklyn, I took the list of inns that Spot wrote for me out of my pocket. There were 4 of them. They didn't give exact directions, but he wrote the address and general area.

I didn't know my way around Brooklyn too well, so I wandered a bit until I found one of the Inns listed. It looked like any other apartment, except it was larger and had a sign that read "Inn" on the door. I walked up the front stairs and knocked.

After about 2 minutes, I didn't get a response. I knocked again, louder this time. An old man answered the door. "Can I help you? Are you looking for a room?" He asked in a shaky voice. I knew he could tell by the way I looked that I didn't have any money to stay in an inn. "No," I said. "I'm just looking for someone. Is anyone by the name of Miller staying here?" I asked.

"Let me check." He said. "Come in." I followed him into a larger room with a wooden floor and a large wooden desk. He walked slowly behind it and opened a book. Pushing his glasses farther up on the bridge of his nose, he dragged his finger down the page. "Miller... Miller..." He mumbled. "No, I'm sorry. There is no one staying here by that name." "Oh... Okay, thank you." I replied, turning to leave. I was a little disappointed, but I still had a few inns to check.

4 hours later, I closed the door of the inn behind me and hit my head against it about a dozen times. I was ready to start crying from frustration. It took me so long to find the first 3 inns, only to figure out that there were no Millers staying there. I still had one chance left.

It took me a while, but I finally I found my way to the last inn. It had started to drizzle outside. I climbed the stairs and took a deep breath before knocking on the door. A young woman opened the door and gave me a disgusted look. "Yes?" She asked. "Hi... I'm sorry to bother you, but I'm looking for someone." She sighed, as if I was wasting her time. "Name?" she asked. "Miller." I replied.

"Come in, I suppose." She said. The inn was a lot nicer than the other ones. She had a book on the front desk, like the first inn I had gone to. I stood in silence as she turned page after page. "Yes. They checked in yesterday evening. Do you need to speak with them?" I couldn't believe I had actually found them. I nodded.

"What is your relation to them?" She asked. "They... might be my parents?" I said. I realized how stupid this must have sounded. She gave me an odd look."Uh... Alright... I'll have a maid go up and get them."

"Mrs. Jones!" She yelled. A maid holding a basket of clothes came in from a doorway. "Yes, Madam?" she asked. "I need you to go up to room 17 and tell the Millers that their daughter is here to see them." The maid nodded and scurried up the stairs.

I watched as the woman sat down to do some paperwork at her desk. The only noise in the room was the ruffling of papers and the ticking of a clock. My heart felt like it was going to beat out of my chest.

It seemed like forever, but I finally heard footsteps coming down the stairs. _This is it..._ I thought. The footsteps finally stopped at the bottom of the stairs and I forced myself to look up. It was only the maid. "I'm sorry, Miss. It seems the Millers do not have a daughter. You must have the wrong family."

I opened my mouth to speak but no words came out. Finally, I was able to say something. "Oh, alright. Thanks anyway." I mumbled. I tried to keep my voice steady, but it was obvious that I was on the verge of tears. I walked to the door and opened it.

Outside it was pouring rain. The water fell in sheets and it was so dark it didn't even look like daytime. I walked down the sidewalk and didn't even try to shelter myself from the rain. I didn't care. Everything had gone wrong.

I walked around for god knows how long, but the rain didn't stop. The growling in my stomach reminded me that I didn't have any food all day. I had enough money to stop by somewhere and get some dinner, but I didn't want to eat. A chill went through my entire body. By this time my clothes were soaked through and through.

All I wanted to do was sleep, but there was no way I was going to go back to Manhattan. I was too tired to figure anything out. Eventually, I found a building on a corner street. On the side of the building, it looked almost deserted. It wasn't a wide open area. Most of it was shaded by trees and old boxes.

I sat against the brick wall between some boxes and tilted my head backwards, letting the rain fall in my face. I gathered my legs close to the rest of my body, trying to retain some of my body heat. I was upset about the whole thing with my parents, but that's not what was really bothering me.

All the words Mush said to me echoed back in my mind. Every time I closed my eyes, I pictured the anger he had in his eyes that morning. I would never see him again. The last thing I would ever hear from his lips was that he couldn't believe what I had done to him. He would always think that I tried to hurt him, when that's not what happened at all.

He was gone for good and I didn't even get to tell him how I felt about him. Physically and mentally exhausted, I fell asleep against the building.

-----

It was cold. Really cold. I suddenly became aware that my entire body was shaking. I heard birds singing, but I didn't understand. How could there be birds out when it's this freezing? I tried to remember the last thing that happened.

A painful memory of Mush being angry at me came back into my head. Then leaving the inn after finding out I had the wrong Millers. The last thing I could remember was pouring rain... and a building. I was on the side of a building when I was last awake.

I was scared to open my eyes. Scared to find myself in an alleyway again, alone. I tried to take in my surroundings with all my senses except for sight.

My clothes were still damp from the rain. My legs were on a cold, hard surface. The cobblestone ground, I was guessing. But the upper half of my body wasn't leaning against a brick wall like I had last positioned myself. I wasn't lying down on the cobblestone, either.

I was in an upright position. My head was resting against something soft and warm, like fabric. The surface under my head would slightly move up and down, almost rhythmically. Breathing. Then I realized that I wasn't alone.

Someone's arms were wrapped around me tight, as if they were trying to stop me from shivering. Still, my entire body kept shaking. My first thought was that it was Mush holding me. Then I realized that thought was unrealistic.

First of all, Mush never wanted to speak to me again. As far as I knew, he hated me. And second, I was in Brooklyn. Nowhere near the lodging house, or Mush's angle, or anywhere Mush would happen to find me by chance.

"Oh god... Please wake up..." The person mumbled. It sounded so much like him. They lifted their hand and swiped my wet hair out of my face. I felt a hand on my forehead. I must have been burning up, because the person pulled me closer and held me tighter. Then they said something in a voice that sounded like it was holding back tears. "I'm so sorry, Hannah..."

Mush was the only person who called me Hannah. It had to be him.

Still, I couldn't bring myself to open my eyes. I wanted more than anything in the world to be in Mush's arms. And the disappointment would be too much if I opened my eyes and found someone else... or worse. That I was alone and had been dreaming the voice I just heard. Or that my high fever was causing me to hear things that weren't there.

I opened my eyes. At first the light burned, but I was used to it in a few seconds. I saw a blur of grey that was the fabric my head was against. The grey shirt that Mush always wore. I felt so weak. Slowly, I raised up my head and looked at him. It was Mush.

"Hannah!" He said. "You're okay!" He took put his hand on the back of my head and lightly pulled me towards his chest so my head was resting on it again. "Hannah... you had me so scared... I... I didn't know if you were going to wake up..." I could have sworn I heard tears in his voice. "You're fever was so high... and... Oh god...This is all my fault... I'm so sorry..."

I didn't have the strength to say anything, so I just shook my head slightly to say it wasn't his fault and closed my eyes again. I didn't understand what he was doing here. He shouldn't be worried about me. He shouldn't even care. He was furious at me last time I saw him... It didn't make sense.

"I sent someone to go back to Manhattan and find the rest of the guys... They'll be here soon. We'll get you back to the lodging house, okay? You'll be okay..."

I owed him so much. This is the second time he had found me out on the streets in horrible shape, beaten up and alone. It was the second time he saved me. I wanted to say something to him. Anything to tell him how important he was to me. That he was my entire world. But I couldn't. I didn't even have the energy to raise my arms and hug him back. I was asleep again in no time.

-----

The fever was causing me to have horrible dreams. Nightmares that I couldn't seem to wake up from. I would shake myself awake, only to be back asleep and in the nightmare a few seconds later.

I woke up in a panic and sat up, breathing heavily. I tried to calm myself down. I heard birds chirping outside the window. I was in the lodging house and it was around late afternoon. All the newsies were out on their routes, so I was alone.

I was wrapped in layers and layers of blankets, probably to sweat out the fever. When I first stood on my feet I was dizzy but other than that I felt a lot better. I didn't stick around very long to make sure of it. I had to find Mush. I got washed and got ready as fast as I could before running down the stairs.

Kloppman was sitting at his desk when I came down. "Sketch... Glad to see you're up and well. Pretty bad fever you had there... pretty bad." He said. "Thanks, yeah...I guess." I said, moving closer to the door.

"And where do you think you're off to?" He asked in his shaky voice. "I have to go see Mush." I replied. "Oh, no... no no no. Boys gotta sell his papes, you know? And you have to rest. He's gotta make his money, you need money to live, you know. And you need sleep. Yep, lots of it... Because if you don't get sleep, you can't sell papes, and you can't make money which you need to live..." His voice trailed off. I thought about arguing, but I figured it was useless. Besides, I had a better idea. I nodded and went back upstairs before he started talking again. I never know what that guy is talking about, anyway.

When I was back up in the bunk room, I went to the window and opened it. I climbed out and stepped onto the metal ledge attached to the side of the building. I climbed down the stairs and went off to find Mush. Kloppman never even realized I had left.

The first place I went was Central Park, but he wasn't there. Crutchy was, though. I asked him, but he didn't know where Mush was. I checked by the Square and then at the circulation office, but I still couldn't find him. All the newsies I came across had no idea where Mush went.

I decided I should check the harbor that he brought me to that day. I tried my best to remember how to get there. I was off to a good start, but I didn't make it all the way there. I came across Mush before I even reached the harbor.

He was selling papers on the sidewalk of a busy street. Just hearing his voice when he shouted out the headline gave me chills.

I started to walk towards him. The crowd of people surrounding him started to shuffle away after buying their papers. When the crowd was completely gone, I noticed that there was one girl who didn't move away. She stood with Mush.

They were talking to one another. Mush didn't seem as happy as he usually was, but once in a while he would smile at something she said. I couldn't hear what they were saying because I was still too far away. Mush sold the last of his papes and began to walk away together.

I could feel my heart sink. I guess I shouldn't have felt like that. I mean, after the whole Skittery thing I guess we weren't considered together anymore. But it still hurt. Had he really replaced me that fast?

I ran back to the lodging house. Forgetting that Kloppman still thought I was in the bunk room, I burst in through the front door. As soon as I did that, I regretted it. Kloppman looked up from his desk. He stared at me for a second.

I expected a lecture about sneaking out. Instead, he mumbled "Oh, hello, Sketch. Back from your paper route so soon, yes? Out of breath... must have been working hard..." Then his voice faded out and he looked back down at his work. _Crazy old guy_...

I sighed and shook my head, going up to the bunks. I took off my shoes and sat on the side of my bed. It wasn't long before all the newsies were back. They didn't come up, but I heard them downstairs. They seemed to be rowdy, and I could hear Race yelling at them every one in a while. That only meant one thing: Cards.

I didn't really feel like going downstairs for a while, so I stayed where I was. Soon enough, I could hear someone coming up the stairs. Mush walked in and smiled at me. "Kloppman told me you were awake. Also said something about how you were already back on your route, but then he said you didn't leave the house all day... Sometimes that guy just doesn't make sense." I tried my best to fake a laugh and pretend that nothing was wrong. I didn't want Mush to know I saw him with that girl earlier.

"So how are you feeling? You had us all pretty scared..." he said, sitting on the bunk across from me. "Better." I replied. "A lot better, actually."

"Good." He said. We were both silent for a while, and it was kind of awkward. "Hey... can we talk about something?" He asked. I nodded. "Sure."

"We never really got a chance to talk about... well, what happened before you left." He said. "Look, Blink told me what he saw out the window and—"

"I kissed Skittery. It was my fault." I said, cutting into Mush's words. I don't know what had possessed me to say it. Because that wasn't the truth at all. Jealously, I suppose. I was upset about the girl I saw Mush with, so I wanted him to know what it felt like.

Mush looked confused for a second. Then he looked down at the floor. "Oh... yeah. Okay." He said. "So... I guess, you like Skittery then, huh?" he asked. I regretting saying what I did. I had no idea it would mess things up for me even more. "I... uhh..."

"It's okay. You don't have to answer that." He said softly. "Come downstairs and play cards with us. There's someone I want you to meet." I stood up silently and followed him. Before we reached the bottom of the stairs, he said "You could have at least ended it with me first, though..." He didn't say it in an angry tone at all, though. It sounded hurt, like he was helpless. I wanted to say something, but I didn't know what to say. Then we were in the lobby, which was crowded with other newsies. I had lost my chance to say something.

All the guys from the lodging house were there, plus Spot and David. Mush led me over to the couch, where she was sitting. The girl from earlier that day. "Hannah, this is Katherine." When he said her name, she turned towards us and smiled. Sticking out her hand to shake mine, she said "Hi! Hannah, right?" I shook her hand and nodded. It was the first time I saw her up close. She was beautiful. Her hair was in loose curls and was held away from her face by a ribbon. She had a warm smile and bright blue eyes. Even though she wore a simple dress, it still made her look fragile and elegant.

She wasn't extremely rich, but she definitely didn't have to sell papers for a living. From the looks of her, you could tell that her family had enough money to live comfortably. How was I supposed to compete with that? I was a poor homeless girl who sold newspapers. Most of the time I wore boys clothes because I couldn't afford any better. I was plain. There was nothing special about me. And she was graceful and pretty and probably everything that Mush wanted.

"I met Katherine a few days ago when I was selling papers in Central Park. It turns out that her father works for the business that writes the papes we sell. Ain't that interesting?" Mush asked me. I nodded. "Very." I replied, trying to sound interested.

I talked with her for a little while longer, before I excused myself and sat on the other side of the room. There, I was away from everyone else but it didn't look like I was trying to avoid everyone. I didn't like her. Not at all. I didn't really have a reason to dislike her, either. She was really nice as far as I knew.

I watched the guys play cards from where I was sitting. Skittery sighed and threw his cards down. "Dammit. I'm out." He said, standing up. He saw me and came over. "Hey..." he said. "Hi." I replied. He sat down next to me on the floor. "What did you say to Mush?" he asked. "Nothing." I replied, sounding calm. "Oh... because I just talked to him. He seemed pretty sure that the two of you were over." Skittery said. Hearing that hurt. A lot. But a tried to hide it.

"Yeah, we are." I said. "I'm really sorry if I messed everything up, Sketch." He said. "No, you didn't... It would have happened anyway." I replied, trying to make him feel less guilty. Skittery was quiet for a few minutes. "Sketch?" He mumbled. I looked up at him. "Maybe we could... you know, spend some time together... Now that you and Mush aren't... you know, maybe we could see if anything happens? With us?" He asked. I figured there was no harm in saying yes. I had already lost Mush. "Sure. That sounds good." I replied. He smiled at me. "Great." He said.

-------

Uh-oh! Mush has another 'goil!' :O

I believe this calls for an I-Hate-Katherine club. Who agrees?

So what do you guys think so far? Please review :)

And thanks for reading. I'll have another chapter tomorrow.


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the original characters from the movie "Newsies."

Okay. So I was reading over this chapter while editing. It drives me crazy how unrealistic this is! It's so sappy and mushy (no pun intended) and if I was to rewrite this now, there'd be so many things that I'd change... Maybe I _will _rewrite it one day when I have the time. For now, I'll just post this.

This one is about the second or third-to-last chapter :O. I was aiming to get this whole thing posted in less than a week so I could post a different story, and it seems to be working out pretty well.

I might **not** be able to update a new chapter tomorrow. I'm going on a school trip (SIX FLAGS! WOOOO!!) and I probably won't be home until late. I'll try to post one when I get home, but I can't promise that it'll be before midnight. Sorry :(

--START--

The next few weeks, I spent a lot of time with Skittery. He really was a great guy. We got along really well. Most of the time, we would sell our papers together. We acted more like friends than anything else. For some reason, I thought it would feel wrong if I was with Skittery. I didn't understand why I felt like that, I just did.

Skittery wasn't the only one I was seeing more of, though. Katherine was with Mush a lot. At least twice a week she would come to the lodging house to see Mush.

I figured they were together now. They didn't show it while they were around or anything, but I could tell she was really interested in him.

I didn't talk to Mush much anymore. We kept our distance from one another. When he did talk to me, I noticed something. He began calling me Sketch more and more, until my real name disappeared completely.

The truth was, I missed him so much. His voice still made me go weak at the knees and his smile still gave me butterflies in my stomach. Still, I hid everything from everyone, especially him. He was happy now with Katherine.

The first time I saw Katherine kiss Mush was on the circulation line. It was early in the morning. We were all waiting for the desk to open, and Katherine came by. She was holding a basket with groceries in it, so I guessed she was running errands for her family.

Mush was at the back of the line, so she didn't have to fight through a crowd to get to him. I was too far away to hear what they were saying but they talked for a little while, until the desk opened. Slowly, the line began to move forward. She pointed behind her, indicating that she had to leave.

Mush nodded. She paused for a second and stared at Mush. She stood on her toes, gave him a quick peck on the lips, and backed away while blushing. Then she quickly walked off. As I stood watching them, jealousy shot through my entire body. I got a horribly empty feeling in the pit of my stomach. Mush had a completely vacant look on his face as he stared after her. She seemed so shy about kissing him. _They had kissed before, haven't they?_ I thought.

Mush looked in my direction and I snapped out of that thought, realizing I was staring at him. Quickly, I turned my head to the front of the line. While I waited, I refused to let myself turn around and look at him again.

When I got to the desk I bought 50 papes. Skittery was waiting for me at the gate. "Ready?" I nodded. "Where do ya wanna sell today?" He asked. I shrugged. "Alright... We'll just look for a sellin' spot, then..." He said, giving me an odd look. I wasn't one of those people who never shut up, but I wasn't completely quiet either. Skittery noticed something was up, but he knew I wasn't in the mood to talk about it so he left it alone.

We walked through the streets, looking for people to sell to. Actually, Skittery was looking for people. I was sort of standing behind him, staying quiet.

The whole scene at the circulation office kept replaying in my head. I knew it was happening, but it still hurt to see it. I guess the thing that bothered me most was that could have been me if I hadn't managed to screw everything up. I didn't blame Skittery for this whole thing. It wasn't his fault. It was mine. For not telling Mush what happened right away, and for leaving before I could explain, and for lying about what actually happened just to try and make him jealous. I couldn't believe I had been that stupid.

I didn't shout out one headline the entire time. Actually, I hardly said a word. And still, I sold as many papers as Skittery. I think people thought I was deaf or couldn't speak so they felt bad for me and bought papers from me.

The headline wasn't particularly hot that day, so I only had about half my papes sold by dusk. There were still a few more people we could sell to, but I didn't want to be there. I called Skittery over. "She speaks..." He joked, walking over to me. I cracked a smile for the first time that day.

"Here..." I said, handing him my papes. "I'm gonna go back to the lodging house. You can take 'em." He shook his head. "No way, Sketch. These are yours." I shrugged. "I don't feel like sellin' anymore." I said.

"Yeah, but if ya don't get your profit from these then you're gonna have to eat the loss. Look, you go back to the lodging house. I'll sell 'em for ya and give you the profit, okay?" He said. I shook my head. "No... Take them and sell what you can. You sold the papes, so you keep the money." I walked off before he could start arguing again.

-----

When I got to the lodging house, there were a few newsies in the lobby. I sat down on the couch and watched guy after guy come back from their routes. When Mush came back, I tried to avoid his gaze as he talked with the rest of them.

Although Mush and I were in the same conversation with Race, Blink, Jack, and Bumlets neither of us talked much. Especially to each other. Skittery was one of the last ones to come in.

He sat down next to me. Taking my hand, he held it so it was open and my palm was facing up. With the other hand, he reached into his pocket. He dropped some money in my hand and closed it. "Here, I couldn't sell all of them because it was getting late and no one was out, but I sold most of them." He said.

"No! Skittery, I'm not taking it. You sold them." I replied, pushing my hand towards him again. "Yeah, but they were your papes!" He said. Then he lowered his voice so only I could hear. "Sketch... I'm tryin' to help. I dunno what's botherin' ya, but it kills to see you upset like this...I care about you a lot, okay?"

I looked at him and he stared back. I smiled and said, "Skittery... Thanks. I appreciate this a lot, but don't worry about it. I'll make up for it tomorrow. I was just a little out of it today." I put the money back into his pocket. He sighed. "You're stubborn, you know that?" He said.

I laughed. "I know." It was quiet between us as we sat facing each other, but I could hear the rest of the newsies' conversations. It was loud in the room now because everyone was back.

Skittery picked up my hand again and held it. He moved closer to me until we were about a foot apart. As he leaned in slowly, I didn't move. His lips barely brushed mine, and my first instinct was to pull back. As soon as his lips touched mine, I thought about Mush.

And then it snapped. Mush and I were over. Completely finished. I had killed every chance I had ever had with him. So I didn't pull back, but for some reason I didn't move towards him, either.

"Skittery!" someone said. Skittery pulled back quickly and looked towards the group of guys, dropping my hand. No one seemed to be paying any attention to what happened, except for Mush. "Kloppman says he wants to see you." Mush said.

"Oh... Okay?" Skittery replied, shooting me a confused look. I shrugged and he got up to go into Kloppman's office.

After a while, Mush told the guys he was tired and went upstairs to the bunk room. I sat waiting for Skittery for a long time. When he finally came back, he sat down next to me again. "What was that about?" I asked.

Skittery scratched his head in confusion. "He told me how paper was made." He said. "He called you into his office to talk about how paper was made?" I asked. Skittery shook his head. "No, he didn't call me into his office at all. Or, that's what he said, at least. But you know how Kloppman likes to talk and stuff, so as I was about to leave he looks down at a pile of papers on his desk. Then he starts explaining how paper was made." Skittery saw my confused look and shrugged.

"So... You're saying Mush made it up?" I asked. "I dunno, maybe. Or maybe Kloppman forgot that he wanted to talk to me. You never know with that man." Skittery said, laughing. "I'll be right back, okay?" I said, getting up. Skittery nodded and I went upstairs.

Mush was lying on his back in his bed, staring at the bunk above him. He looked over when I came in, and then looked up again. I walked over and sat down one of the beds close to him. "What?" He asked. He had a bit of an attitude in his voice, so I was surprised. The only other time I had seen him angry like this was the day I went to Brooklyn.

"Get a kick out of makin' stuff up?" I asked. "I dunno what you're talking about." He said. I sighed. "Its obvious Kloppman didn't really need to see Skittery."

He rolled over on his side, turning his back to me. "So what if I made it up. What's it madda." I walked around to the other side of the bed, so I could see his face again. "It doesn't matter, actually. I'm just wondering why." I asked. "I dunno, if he's stupid enough to believe something, then..."

"What's your problem!?" I interrupted, starting to raise my voice. Mush sat up and stared at me. "MY problem!? I'm not the one making out in the lobby for everyone to see!" He yelled.

My mouth dropped open. I couldn't believe him. "First off, we hardly even kissed. And you're aloud to kiss Katherine, but I'm not aloud to kiss who I want!?" I said.

"Yeah, and now you're the one making stuff up! I never kissed Katherine!" Mush said quickly. "What do you call this morning at the circulation office?!" I asked, narrowing my eyes. "She kissed me!" He yelled. I rolled my eyes and scoffed. "So you mean to tell me that you never ONCE kissed her!?"

Mush's expression softened and he shook his head. It took him a few seconds to say something. "You just don't get it, do you?" he asked, his voice barely above a whisper. I was completely confused. Sometimes I just didn't get him.

I heard footsteps on the stairs, but neither of us moved. We both stood a few feet apart staring at one another. The door opened, and one by one they stopped talking when they saw us, feeling the tension in the room. "Uhh... This a bad time, Mush? We can go back downstairs..." Kid Blink said.

Mush looked at me for a few more seconds, before turning his face to the other newsies. "Nah, Blink. It's fine." He said, starting to move back to his bed that he had wandered away from during the fight. The other newsies shrugged it off and came into the bunk room.

Skittery sat down on his bunk, which was a few away from mine. He started untying his shoes. He said something without looking up, but I knew it was directed towards me. "Still feel somethin' for him, huh?" He asked. His voice didn't sound demanding or angry... He sounded sympathetic.

"What makes you say that?" I asked, trying to avoid the question. "You didn't kiss back." He said, looking directly at me this time. I tried to avoid his gaze. "So?" I questioned.

"So... it's not just that, Sketch. The way you look at him and everything..." He replied. I sighed. "I... I dunno, Skittery." I lied. I knew exactly what I felt.

He stood up. "You do, Sketch. And he feels the same." Skittery moved towards the sinks to wash his face. "You're wrong." I yelled after him. He didn't turn around, but he stopped and looked over his shoulder. "No, you're just stubborn." He said, giving me a half smile.

I shook my head and put my legs up on my bed. Propping myself up against the headboard, I closed my eyes. I stayed like that for a few minutes, until I felt something hit the side of my head. "Ow..." I muttered, opening one of my eyes.

There was a crinkled up piece of paper lying next to me on the bed. Immediately, I looked up at Mush and he turned away. Then he just got up and left the bunk room.

_Oh my God, is he going to be THAT immature_? I thought, but a second glace at the piece of paper made me realize it had writing on it. I picked it up and smoothed it out.

i "_Meet me at The Square in ten minutes_" /i

------

For the first time that summer, I could feel a hint of autumn. There was a chill in the air that was only noticeable after the sun went down.

I was glad none of the guys questioned me about where I was going. I think they all knew not to mention anything. I stepped out of the lodging house and a small shiver went through me. The cool air gave me goose bumps on my arms.

It was really dark out, and if it weren't for the nearby lit buildings and the clear sky I wouldn't have known where I was going. My heart was beating faster than usual, and I had a certain feeling in the pit of my stomach. I didn't quite know why I was so nervous, but I was.

I took my time getting to the square. Part of me was hoping that he wouldn't even be there when I got there. I'm just not one of those people who like to face my problems.

I even thought of turning back, but I didn't know if I could bear to fight with Mush again. It made me really uncomfortable to see him when he wasn't his self. Carefree and happy. It would be better to just clear everything up as soon as I could.

I didn't see Mush right away when I got to the square. At first I thought he left, but I heard some movement coming from behind the statue. As I moved around it, I saw him. He was sitting with his back against it. He had his arms folded over his knees and his head buried in his arms.

When he heard my footsteps on the cobblestone, he looked up. He stared at me for a while without saying anything. I could hear a few crickets and once in a while the wind would ruffle the trees, but other than that it was quiet.

Finally, he broke the silence. "Wasn't really sure if you were gonna come." He said in a low voice. "To be honest, neither was I." I replied. He shrugged and stood up. "I wouldn't blame you."

He lifted himself onto the base of the statue as I sat down on the ground, under him but to the side so his legs dangled next to me. I brought my knees close to my body and rested my chin on them.

I wasn't looking at him, but I could hear him take a deep breath. "I didn't know what to think, Sketch... I still don't." He mumbled. "What do you mean?" I asked.

"I've heard so many versions of what happened, and I don't know what to believe." I stayed silent, so he continued. "Blink... told me what he saw. And I still don't know what really happened. All I know is that you left, and Skittery told me he was the one who kissed you."

Mush paused again. He slid off the base of the statue and sat next to me. He faced me, but I kept my gaze forward. "I went to find you in Brooklyn... I looked for you for hours and I finally found you soaked against that building with a high fever. Then you told me that you were the one who kissed Skittery... and I just... gave up..." His voice faded out. He took another deep breath. "I still don't know what happened." He repeated.

My eyes filled with tears but I continued to look forward. I pushed myself off from the statue and walked away from him. He sighed. "No. Hannah." He stood up. "I'm not gonna make that mistake again- I'm not letting you run away again."

The fact that he used my real name made me stop walking. Slowly, turned to him. He was about 10 feet away from me, but neither of us moved. I finally blinked, releasing the tears from my eyes. I shook my head. "I lied... what I said, it's not true... About Skittery... I never wanted to lose you, but I messed up, Mush... I messed everything up..." My voice shook and the tears were streaming down my face now.

He walked to me and held me at away from him at arms length, putting his hands on my shoulders. "No, Hannah... No, you didn't." I tried to turn away but he put his hand up to my cheek and forced me to look at him. "No..." He wiped a tear off my face with his thumb.

I nodded, looking down. "I lost my chance." I whispered. "Hannah, you never lost your chance...I never kissed Katherine, because I would wait for you forever. You know why I made that thing up tonight? Because it killed me to see you with someone else. You mean the whole world to me, and I'm not gonna give you up without a fight."

I looked up and my eyes met his. I saw a mix of so many things in his eyes... confidence, certainty, but there was also compassion and honesty.

"I've loved you since you first spoke to me, and I still do." I opened my mouth to respond, but he had already wound his arm around my back and pulled me closer to him. He wrapped his other arm around my waist and practically lifted me up, making his lips meet mine. He kissed me harder than he ever had before.

It happened so fast that I wasn't aware of anything. So many emotions flooded through me at once. Everything around seemed to disappear except him. It felt like all the oxygen was taken out of my lungs and my stomach did a somersault.

When he broke the kiss, he didn't back away. He pressed his forehead against mine and put his hands on either side of my face.

I had gone from relying on no one but myself, to trusting someone completely with all my thoughts, feelings, and emotions. I didn't have much at all. But it didn't matter if I had the world at my feet. Because if I didn't have love, no matter what else I had, it would never be enough.

-------

When we got back to the lodging house, the guys were still sitting around the bunk room talking. As we got to the top of the stairs, Mush grabbed my hand and led me through the door.

The others looked up and were quiet for a second. A smile spread across Mush's face, and they all began cheering. "I knew they was gettin' back togedda." Racetrack said. "Oh, didn't bet any money on it this time, Race?" I asked. Everyone laughed. I looked towards Skittery. He wasn't yelling and laughing like the rest of them, but he didn't look angry either.

He was sitting away from the other newsies on his bunk. He caught my eye contact and smiled. Mush was talking to a few guys who had crowded around us, now. I quietly excused myself and walked over to Skittery.

"I won't say it." He said. I tilted my head to the side. "Say what?" I asked. "That I told you so. See? Now you made me say it." He said and I laughed, sitting down next to him. It was quiet for a few seconds, and then Skittery sighed. "Mush's lucky to have you..." He said. "You guys look good together. I'm happy for ya."

"Thanks, Skittery." I said, smiling to him. "I won't mess stuff up this time." He smiled back. "You didn't mess anything up... It was my fault." I said.

"We can still hang out, right? Sell papes together and stuff?" he asked. I nodded. "Of course." I replied. Skittery hugged me and I got up, walking back over to the rest of the newsies.

----

A few days later, I was going back to the lodging house after my route. It was starting to get dark as I walked down the sidewalk. I ran into Race, who was walking the opposite way. "Hey, Sketch." He said, stopping to talk to me. "Hiya, Race. You're not goin' back to the lodging house?" I asked. "Nah," he replied. "I'm gonna head ova' to Sheepshead Bay for a while."

I smiled. "What a surprise." I said sarcastically. He punched me lightly on the arm. "Shuddup." He said, starting to walk again. "Bye, Racetrack." I called over my shoulder.

When I walked in the guys said hello and I greeted them back. I sat down on the couch next to Mush. He gave me a peck on the cheek and put his arm around my shoulders. "Hey, Hannah. How was ya day?" he asked.

"Pretty good." I replied. He was so cute. "Headline wasn't so hot today." Mush nodded. "Yeah, it wasn't. Did ya have to eat any of 'em?" He asked.

Before I could answer, the door to the lodging house burst open. Dutchy stumbled in, out of breath. His entire left arm was covered in dirt and he had a huge scratch under his eye that was still bleeding. I stood up from the couch and so did Mush. A few of the guys ran over to him.

"Dutchy!"

"What happened?!"

"What's wrong with him?"

"He's too outta breath... Dutchy! C'mon, talk!"

"Someone sit him down..."

Dutchy shook his head furiously when they tried to bring him over to the couch. "We have to go..." he said, in between gasps for air. "Go where?" everyone asked. "Race... and the Delancey brothers..." He said. "Spit it out, Dutchy! What happened!" they yelled.

"Me and Itey tried to help, but more scabs showed up, so I got away I came to get help... we gotta hurry... They was in bad shape."

Jack pushed through the crowd of newsies and grabbed Dutchy by the shoulders. He shook him, saying "Where are they?" "A few blocks south of the Square..." he replied. We all ran out of the lodging house, heading towards The Square.

------

It was worse than I had expected when I got there. There were tons of scabbers, including the two Delancey brothers. Race was sprawled out on the ground on his side. There had to be at least more than a dozen of them. Morris was kicking Race in the gut, as another scabber just stood over him watching. "This'll teach you to be a smartass to me..." Morris said, kicking Race even harder.

Racetrack's head jerked forward slightly every time he was kicked, but the air was being knocked out of his lungs so fast that he didn't have the energy to get up or say anything.

Itey was pushed up against the wall of a building by another scab, and he took a punch to the face. Then another. The rest of the scabs who weren't beating Itey and Race were standing against the wall, laughing and shouting things at them.

When they saw us approaching, they tensed up. "Look! There's more of 'em... the one who got away must have gotten his friends..." One of them yelled. The scabbers moved away from the wall and came closer to us. Luckily, none of them had any weapons.

I tried to think fast. _What are our chances of getting out of this alive? There's got to be at least 14 of them. 10 of us... two who are already beaten up... that's 8, oh god._..

Specs sprinted over to Race and tried to hit Morris, but the other scab who was standing nearby punched Specs, knocking off his glasses and sending him flying to the ground.

"Soak 'em!!" Blink yelled. We all ran in and joined the fight.

-------

It was complete confusion. Punches were being thrown left and right. I ran up behind the scab who was holding Itey up against the wall. I tapped him on the shoulder and he turned around.

When he saw I was a newsie, he whirled around to soak me but I tripped him. He let go of Itey and fell forward. Itey slid down the wall and fell to the ground, beaten up with two black eyes.

One of the scabbers picked up Race and smashed his head into the bricks. He also fell to the ground, out cold. Skittery and Mush were back to back, trying to fight off 4 scabs. Specs was punched in the face again, but returned it with a punch to the gut.

Kid Blink was being cornered in by 3 scabs. He backed up until he hit the wall. He was able to punch one of them, and when another jabbed at him he moved out of the way so their fist cracked on the bricks. He didn't get away from the third one, though. The third scab kneed Blink in the stomach and he fell over in pain.

A flash of light blinded my eyes for a second. At first I thought it was lightning, but it was a pretty clear night out. The thought was pushed out of my head and my attention was brought back to the fight when I was punched across the face.

Snipeshooter was clinging onto Oscar's back, throwing as many punches as he could. Oscar flung him off and Snipeshooter was thrown a few feet against some garbage cans. Boots was on the ground being kicked by 2 scabbers. Every time he tried to get up, they would kick him down again.  
I tried to run to Boots, but I got punched in the face again. I attempted to move to one side of the scab, but he moved with me. Suddenly, I kneed him between the legs. One of the upsides of being a girl was that I didn't have to worry about being hit there.

The scabber curled up on the cobblestone in pain and I jumped over him. When I reached Boots, a second blinding light flashed. The scabbers who were beating up Boots were stunned for a second. Mush came up from behind them and smashed their heads together.

"You okay?" he asked, out of breath. "Yeah." I replied, nodding. "Mush! Watch it!" I yelled. Morris came from behind him and wrapped his arm around Mush's neck, strangling him. With his other arm, he punched Mush right in the eye.

Mush struggled, but he couldn't get out of Morris's hold. Trying to think quickly, I kicked Morris in the shin as hard as I could. His grip on Mush loosened and Mush was able to jerk his head backwards. The back of his head collided with Morris's nose. Morris stumbled back, clutching his face. When he took his hands away, his nose was completely bloody.

We heard whistles being blown from farther away. As they started getting louder, almost everyone stopped fighting. "It's the bulls!" Specs yelled.

"Let's get outta hear! C'mon!" The scabbers yelled, as they all scattered off. "Someone called the cops! We gotta get back to the lodgin' house!" Skittery yelled over everyone. Mush quickly picked up Racetrack, who was still out cold. He threw him over his shoulder and we ran back to the lodging house.

------

The door shut behind us and we all stumbled in, out of breath. I counted out 10 just to make sure everyone made it back. Mush took Race off his shoulder and put him on the couch, while Dutchy went to get him a wet rag for his head. Aside from Race, we were all alright. A few of us, like Specs, Itey, and Boots, were in pretty bad shape, though.

Kloppman came into the room from his office. "What's all da commotion?" He asked. He stopped dead in his tracks when he saw us all blooded up. His eyes wandered to Race on the couch, old cold and bleeding like crazy. "What happened?" He asked.

Cowboy stood up and went over to Kloppman. "The Delancey Brudda's, and their scabber friends... Race was on his way to Sheepshead Bay, see? So they found him I guess he was mouthin' off to them. They start throwin' punches. So Dutchy and Itey came across da fight and tried to help, but they was outnumbered. Dutchy got away and came to get help from us, and we-"

Jack was interrupted by a loud knock at the door. We all quieted down and exchanged glances. Kloppman, looking overwhelmed with confusion, went to answer the door.

"Shh! Shh!"

"Shut up!

"I can't hear what he's sayin...!"

"Put a lid on it!"

Finally, everyone shut up and we could hear Kloppman's shaky voice. "Oh, Hello Officer." Our eyes widened. "Da bulls are here..." Whispers echoed throughout the room, but we quickly quieted down again so we could hear the cop's response.

No luck. He was mumbling too softly to distinguish any words. "Oh, a fight?" Kloppman replied. More mumbling. "Well, it depends what you mean by 'knowing anything about it.'" Kloppman tried to stall, but it didn't work. The cop pushed past Kloppman and came into the lobby.

He saw us all bruised, bloody, and beaten up. "This is just about all the evidence I need." He said. When he saw Race on the couch he gave us an annoyed look and sighed. "You started the fight, I presume?" He asked. All of us started yelling angrily at once. "Silence!" The cop screamed, but we became even more riled up.

Specs stood up and finally got us to quiet down. "Officer, it was completely self defense. The scabbers started a fight with us, and we was only tryin' to defend ourselves." He explained. All the newsies nodded and agreed, starting to mumble again.

The cop gave us all a skeptical look. "I'll be back to look into this more. You kids aren't off the hook yet..." He mumbled. With that, he turned and left the lodging house.

-----

Uh-oh! da newsies is in trouble wit da bulls!!

Man... I wish I actually talked like that. How cool would it be if I did? Pffft... I totally got gypped out of my New York accent D:

Anywho, please review if you can.

Thank you thank you thank you for reading!


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the original characters from the movie "Newsies."

Hi there, people. And how are you today?

Thanks to everyone who reviewed on the last chapter. Your comments were all really nice :)

This chapter is kind of long. I was thinking about splitting it into two, but then I figured I might as well post the rest of it right now. Speaking of this chapter... while I was editing it, I noticed yet ANOTHER thing. All this girl ever does is cry. Oh well. Maybe she's just going through puberty or something with all those mood swings.

So here we go, last chapter :D Enjoy, guys.

--START--

I woke up in a panic and sat up. Scanning the room, I noticed it was almost empty. I vaguely remembered Kloppman and the newsies bugging me to get up, but I said I would get up in a few minutes. Then I rolled back over and fell asleep again.

We were all exhausted from the night before. The fight took a lot out of all of us, and the fact that we stayed up until all hours of the night talking about it didn't help. Plus we had to make sure that Racetrack was okay.

Remembering Racetrack, I quickly turned my head towards his bunk. There was a lump of blankets and I couldn't see him. I stood up and walked over to him.

He was still asleep. I didn't know if he had woken up at all, but I doubled it. He had a bandage wrapped around his head now, but there were bloodstains on it around his forehead. He didn't look like the tough guy we all knew him as. He looked helpless and weak.

"Aw... Race..." I whispered. I didn't want to leave him alone, but I was way behind on my profits. I filled up a glass of water and put it by his bed incase he woke up. I got ready as fast as I could and grabbed my money from the day before off the table by my bunk.

I ran down the staircase and jumped the last two. As I was about to run out the door, I heard Kloppman's voice coming from the desk. "Behind schedule today, huh Sketch?" he said without looking up. I stopped and turned to him. "Yeah..." I replied. "The rest of the newsies left about 20 minutes ago. How's Race?" He asked.

"Still asleep... Did he wake up at all last night?" I said. Kloppman shook his head. "No. I'll keep an eye on him." He replied. I nodded and left the lodging house.

By the time I jogged to the circulation office I was out of breath. I walked to the end of the line and scanned the area for my friends. I saw them off to the left of the desk. They were standing around in a huge mob. Jack was in the middle of it and was trying to calm them down. They were all yelling and freaking out.

I turned to one of the newsies next to me that I didn't know. "Do you know what's going on?" I asked him. He shrugged. "Nah, must be a good headline I guess." He said. Mush caught my attention and waved me over.

I started walking towards him. He pushed through the crowd and came up to me. "What's going on?" I asked, confused. He held out one of his papers.

On the front cover, it read in huge letters, "Fight Breaks Out Between Newsies in Manhattan." My eyes searched the page. There was a large picture of the fight. Race was passed out against the wall in the background. Skittery was more towards the front, fighting one of the scabs. I was also in the picture. I was more towards the background, but I was still completely visible.

"I don't get it..." I said. "How'd they get these pictures?" I asked, taking the paper from him. Mush shrugged. "We don't know," he said. "But people are gonna stop buying from us. They're gonna think we're dangerous or somethin'." He said.

Then it clicked in my mind. The two flashes of light. They weren't lightning...

"Mush! The light last night... It was a camera's flash going off. Someone must have been watching the fight. A journalist or something. They probably took the pictures, called the cops to stop it, and left."

Jack heard what I said and came over. "If I ever find dat journalist, I'll soak him. This is real bad for business... We ain't gonna sell any papes." He said. "I told you soaking kids in the street would give us a bad name!" David yelled, taking a step towards Cowboy.

"You wasn't there, Dave." Jack said. "Yeah, like Specs said... It was self defense." Pie Eater yelled. They all started arguing again. Mush tried to get them to stop, but they all just ignored him. Soon he gave up. He sat next to the loud mob of newsies and just sighed.

-----------

For the third day in a row, I almost had to drag myself into the lodging house. I didn't even bother going into the lobby. I knew the newsies wouldn't be there. It was about 9 at night, but they were already in the bunk rooms.

It was difficult to lift my legs up each stair. By the time I got to the top, I felt like falling over. "Hey guys." I said, opening the door. Most of them didn't even say anything. They sort of just grunted to acknowledge my presence.

I looked around. They were sprawled out on their bunks. Some even on the floor. The odd thing was that they weren't even talking. Most of the time they were loud and full of energy, but the last few days had been like this.

"Heya Race, How ya feeling?" I asked, walking past him. He had woken up about a day ago and seemed to be fine. "Better. Tomorrow I'm gonna take this bandage off and go back to work." He said. "Trust me, you don't want to." I said. He let out a small laugh.

We were all exhausted from the day. It had never been so difficult for us to sell papers. We would leave at 6 AM and were getting back at 8 or 9 at night instead of 5 or 6 like we usually did. We learned the first day that if we bought more than a dozen papers, we wouldn't sell them all.

No one wanted to buy papes from us. Everyone who had seen the article with us fighting on it was either protesting violence or was just downright scared of us. People would rather just go out of their way to buy from a stand if it meant staying away from us. Usually fights in Manhattan weren't a big deal. They were pretty common, actually. But this fight had over 20 people and a lot of blood. Plus the scabbers were really milking it. Some were starting to claim that we attacked for no reason, and others were saying that we had weapons.

We knew this would all blow over eventually, but for now it was a major pain in the ass. I went to lie down in my bunk. Mush got up from his bed and dragged himself over. He sat down on the side of mine and took my hand in his. "Hey." He said. "How'd ya do today?" He asked. "Didn't sell more than ten. How long do ya think it's gonna take for people to forget about this?" I said.

He shrugged. "Not long. Just until somethin' bigger happens." He replied. He lied down next to me and I put my head on his chest. The other guys didn't tease us much anymore. They had gotten used to us being together. Here and there they would let out a comment, but they were way too tired now to even notice.

We sat in silence as he stroked my hair and I listened to his heartbeat. I closed my eyes and nestled in closer to him. _This is too perfect..._ I thought. _Nothing could mess this up._

Almost on queue, I heard someone yell "Sketch..." from downstairs. It was Kloppman. I closed my eyes tighter, hoping I was imagining it and I didn't have to get up. "Sketch!" he yelled louder.

I sighed. "Be right back..." I said. Mush nodded and I went over to the door. "Yeah?" I yelled down the stairs. "Someone's here to see you." Kloppman said. _To see me? That's weird.._.

I slowly walked down the stairs. When I got to the bottom, I looked up. There was a man standing near Kloppman's desk. "Hannah?" He said. I didn't know who he was. How did he know my name?

He looked familiar. Very familiar... but different. I looked at him more closely. "Dad...?" I whispered.

--------

I couldn't believe it. Had he really found me? After all these years, was it really him? I stood frozen staring at him. His features were almost the same as I could remember, but for some reason he still looked different. His dark brown hair had now started to get grey. He still wore the same warm smile that I remembered, but his eyes had a different look to them. They looked tired, worn out, almost sad.

I ran to him and hugged him. It felt so weird. The last time I had hugged him my arms were no higher than his waist. Now he was only about a foot taller than me.

"Hannah... I missed you so much. Have you been here this whole time? In New York City?" I nodded. "How did you find me?" I asked.

"I saw the newspaper... the one about the fight. You were in the picture, at least I thought it looked a lot like you. It said that the Newsies from the Upper East Manhattan Newsboys Lodging House were involved in the fight... So I came here to look for you." He said.

"Where were you this whole time?" I asked him. "I was all over searching for you, but I just traveled from Pennsylvania." He replied

"Pennsylvania?!" I asked. "What are you doing there?" "It's a long story... I'll explain it all in the carriage. But you'll love it there, I promise. Get your things together. It's waiting outside." He said.

I tensed up. "Now...?" I whispered. "Yes." He said, as if it was obvious. "It's about a three day ride." It never occurred to me that my dad finding me would mean leaving everything behind. The newsies, the lodging house, and Mush.

I looked at him with my mouth open a little bit. "Hannah... Don't you want to go?" I was about to tell him that I couldn't leave everything behind, but then I stopped myself. I couldn't do that to him. He was my father and he had spent the last 6 years searching for me. I had already caused him enough pain by running away.

I nodded, dropping my gaze to the floor. "I don't have much... I'll be back down in a few minutes."

I walked into the bunk room. Everyone was still in the exact position where I had left them. They raised their heads when I came in, but didn't say anything as they watched me cross the room. They were expecting me to go back to my bed, but I didn't.

I opened my drawer by my bed and took out the few clothes that I had bought in the past month. I folded them in a neat pile on my bed so they would be easier to carry. "Sketch... What are ya doin'?" Blink asked. I didn't answer him right away. I was afraid that if I tried to talk, my voice would be unsteady.

I tried not to look up. I hid the unshed tears in my eyes from the rest of the newsies. I turned around to take the last shirt out of the drawer, and Mush saw me crying. "Hannah... What's wrong?" he asked. Again, I refused to talk.

He stood up from my bed. "Hey... Look at me." He put his hand against my cheek and turned my face towards him. I stared at him and blinked, letting my tears fall. "You're scarin' me, Hannah... What's going on?" He asked. This time he had panic in his voice.

"My dad's here." I said. "He found me because of the picture in the newspaper. I'm leaving with him." Mush's eyes widened. "What? Where!?" He asked. I broke the eye contact and moved away from him. "Pennsylvania." I whispered, knowing he wouldn't be happy with the answer.

"No. Hannah, No. You can't leave." He said. "I have to..." I replied. By this time, the other newsies had gotten up and started moving towards Mush and I now. "You can't leave... stay here... With us... with me."

I sighed and shook my head. "I can't, Mush. He's my dad..." I looked up at Mush. "So you're just leavin'? Just like that?" He asked. "I don't have a choice." I whispered. For a second he looked like he was going to respond, but he didn't. He sighed and looked down at the floor. "Okay..." he said. I never asked Mush about his parents, but since he was here I guess he had none. I guess he understood what it felt like for me to have no family.

The rest of the newsies were silent. They just stared at me with wide eyes and exchanged looks. One by one, I gave them each hugs. They didn't say much, except muttering things like "Bye Sketch." or "We'll miss ya here."

After I hugged Skittery, I turned to Mush. He was standing with his hands in his pockets. Even though his eyes glistened, he refused to look away from mine. I stayed where I was for a few seconds, until I couldn't take it anymore.

I threw my arms around him and buried my head into his shoulder. He put one of his hands against my back and held my head with the other. I guess he gave the other guys a look because I could hear them start to shuffle away from us and go back to their bunks.

"I'm gonna miss ya, Hannah. A lot." I nodded, picking my head up and wiping the tears off my face with the back of my hand. "I'm going to miss you, too." I said. He put both his hands on either side of my face and looked at me for a second. Then he tilted his head down and kissed me softly on the lips.

"Hannah?" I heard my dad yell from the lobby. I backed up from Mush. "I gotta go..." I whispered, picking up my clothes from the bed. I walked out the door and I could hear the newsies muttering goodbyes from behind me, but Mush didn't say anything. He stood there with a vacant look on his face as he watched me leave.

-------

"I can't believe you were in Manhattan the whole time. Right under my nose." My father said, breaking the silence. We were in the carriage now and I was staring out the window. The things that I had seen millions of times before suddenly made me upset. I was leaving the only place I had known my whole life. "Your mother and I came back to look for you a couple of times... but we could never find you." He continued.

_Mom!_ I remembered. I couldn't believe she had slipped my mind. I missed her so much. I couldn't wait to see her. "Where's mom? Is she at the house?" I asked. My father's smile faded as he looked at me. "Dad... what's wrong...?" I asked. For some reason, I knew what it was before he said it.

"Hannah... Your mother, She... passed away. About three years ago." He said, looking away from me. It took me a second for it to sink in. I shook my head furiously. "No... no... she's not, she's..."

My dad hugged me, pulling me towards him. "Yes, Hannah. She got really sick. I'm sorry..." he said. I was never going to see my mother again. She was gone. My eyes started to fill up with tears again.

"Let me explain what happened. Your mother and I left Manhattan after you didn't come back for about two weeks. We went to go looking for you. We looked all over New York City, and when we didn't find you we searched New York. Then we began moving on to separate states all together. After about two years of searching, we ended up in Pennsylvania. Then... your mother... she got very ill. She had a high fever and was coughing up blood for a while. The doctor said it was tuberculosis, and it was possible for her to get better... but she passed away in bed a few days later."

He took a deep breath before continuing. "I was so upset. I just had to stop my entire life for a while. I didn't know if I could keep going without her, so I just settled down where I was. I got a job and a small house and stayed there for about a year. Then, I struck oil. Suddenly I was making three times the money than I did at my old job. I had a house built in Pennsylvania. I've been living there for about two years now. And finally, I came across the newspaper. It was actually a very lucky thing. Since the house I had built has some extra rooms, sometimes I let travelers stay in them. As an inn, kind of. A young man was traveling from New York City, and he happened to have a copy of the newspaper. When I saw it, I thought that it was possible the girl in the picture could be you. Although you've grown, your face hasn't changed one bit, Hannah."

He smiled at me. I tried to smile back, but I was feeling terrible. First having to leave New York City, and then finding out about my mom...

Over all, I missed Mush. I kept picturing him every time I closed my eyes and it was impossible to get him out of my head. It had only been a little while. The thought of not seeing him for a really long time, maybe even never again, bothered me like nothing else.

Of course I was happy to see my dad, but this timing sucked. Mush was perfect. He was sweet and cute and... amazing. I loved him so much. And then it occurred to me... I never once told him that I did.

------

We had been riding in the carriage for about two hours. It must have been around midnight. I had gotten used to the constant bumping up and down and the sound of the horses hooves on the path.

I looked over at my father. He had fallen asleep. I looked out the window again. A shiver went up my spine. It was starting to get colder now that it was getting further into the night.

The thought about Mush had been haunting me for hours now. I wanted to talk to him so bad. To just have a few seconds with him again so I could tell him. A few months ago, I would have given anything to get out of New York City. Now it was the only place I wanted to be.

My mind jumped from thought to thought. _Every second I'm sitting here, I'm getting farther away from Mush. _That thought sent me into panic and I felt like crying again. Since I met Mush, I wanted things to be exactly how they were a few hours ago, when Mush and I were together. As soon everything was getting to be perfect, I had to leave.

_We have to turn back_. Without thinking about it, I turned to my father and lightly shook his arm. "Dad..." I whispered. He stirred in his sleep. I was about to try again, but thought better of it.

My dad wouldn't let me. He knew something was up when he saw me come downstairs crying before we left the lodging house. I think he knew that if he didn't get me out of there when he did, I never would have been willing to leave.

He would tell me that it wasn't worth it. That we had a lot of miles to cover before we got there, and turning back would just slow us down. Even though I hadn't seen him in years, I knew him. He would try to comfort me by saying that we could go back to Manhattan again soon. But I knew that wasn't a reality. I had a feeling in the pit of my stomach that if it was up to anyone but me, I wouldn't see Mush in a really long time.

I looked towards the front of the carriage. I could only see the driver's upper back and his head, but I could tell he wasn't paying attention.

Taking one more glance at the driver to make sure he wasn't looking, I hopped out of the carriage. My shoes made a soft thud on the path, but it wasn't loud enough to be heard over the horse's hooves.

The more distance between me and the carriage, the faster my heart beat. I was overwhelmed with guilt. Was I making a huge mistake? I could picture how worried my dad would be when he woke up and found I wasn't there. I had already run away once and it had messed up my life.

Or had it? If I never ran away, I never would have met Mush. He meant everything to me, and I couldn't imagine what it would be like without him. Still, it was the middle of the night and I was alone. I had no clue where I was going. Who knew how dangerous it was. All I had was a long winding dirt path to follow all the way back to New York City. I could still run and catch up to the carriage... It wasn't too far away yet.

I stood in the middle of the path facing the carriage that was now slowly disappearing down the side of a hill. The constant tapping of the horses was barely even noticeable. My common sense was pulling me in one direction and my heart in another.

I had made up my mind.

-----

It was dead silent out. So quiet it was almost eerie. My feet on the path were the only sound, except for a few crickets and an occasional owl. I didn't notice how dark the forests had been while I was in the carriage.

Now it felt like the trees' branches were hanging over me from every direction. I was lucky it was a clear night, because the moon was the only reason I was able to see three feet in front of me. Sometimes, a cloud would cover it and I would have to stop where I was. I would wait for it to pass so I could see it again and then continue walking.

I was really anxious. Every time a twig would snap or an owl would make a sound near me, I would practically jump out of my skin.

My legs were starting to feel tired, but I couldn't stop. There was no way I was stopping in the middle of the forest. Plus I couldn't waste any time. If it took 2 hours to get where I was in a carriage, it would take double that to get back. I had four hours of walking ahead of me, and I wanted to get to Manhattan before sunrise.

I stopped short when I came to a fork in the road. I didn't remember there being two paths. All of a sudden I got really nervous. Who knew where I could end up if I took the wrong one? I listened to my first instinct and went to the right.

Eventually, I came up at a small town. The path went right through the middle of it. I thought about asking someone if I was headed towards New York City, but it was about 2 in the morning by that time. The town was completely deserted.

I tried to recognize anything that I might have seen on the way through it the first time. When I came across the sign that welcomed you into the town, the name looked somewhat familiar. I kept going and hoped to God I was going the right way.

My legs ached by about 3:30 AM, but I didn't care. The area had started to look familiar. I was just on the outskirts out New York City. If I kept moving, I could be back in Manhattan by four.

The city was unbelievably calm. Every once in a while you would see someone who had an early morning job to do, but other than that it was empty. I moved through the city until I reached Manhattan and I headed for the Upper East Side.

The sky was starting to get light around the horizon, and I knew the newsies would be getting up soon to sell their papes. They would be up by sunrise, which gave me an hour. I wanted to be in and out of there without anyone seeing me but Mush. I didn't want to cause a huge commotion, and I didn't want anyone to know I was back.

When I saw the lodging house, I jogged the rest of the way over to it. I climbed the front stairs and put my hand on the doorknob. I hoped that Kloppman had somehow forgotten to lock it. Then I could just sneak in. That guy's always forgetting stuff, right?

"Please please please be open..." I whispered. I turned the doorknob, but it stopped before it hardly turned at all. It was locked. I sighed.

_Guess I gotta do this the hard way..._ I thought. I went to the side of lodging house building and climbed the metal stairs that were attached. I tried to step as lightly as I could, so the metal didn't _clang_ every time I went up a step.

When I reached the ledge, I looked over at the windows. They had left some of them open a little bit to get some air, like they usually did. It was still dark out, so I watched my step. I was careful not to trip over any clothes they might have left out to dry.

I got to the window and slid it all the way open carefully. I lifted one leg in, then my head, and then my other leg. I was just about through when my foot got caught. I tripped and fell down hard on the wood floor.

Someone made a grunting sound and mumbled in their sleep. I shut my eyes tight and refused to breathe. I didn't want to risk anything. I didn't move at all for about two minutes, making sure that everyone was asleep.

I cautiously got up and went over to Mush's bed. He was on his back with one arm over his head and the other across his stomach. He breathed steadily, which meant he was asleep. I couldn't believe he was there, right in front of me. I thought I wouldn't see him again for a really long time.

It took all the strength I had not to kiss him right there. I had to wake him up calmly, so he didn't wake up the others.

"Mush..." I whispered. He didn't move. I put my hand on his shoulder and shook him slightly. He groaned and turned his head the other way. "Mush!" I whispered, shaking him a little harder.

He opened his eyes suddenly. "What th-" I clamped my hand over his mouth to stop him from talking. "Shh!" I said.

"Hannah?" he mumbled into my hand. "Shh! Be quiet, you'll wake them up!" I murmured. He took my hand off his mouth, giving me a confused look. "What are you doing here?" He whispered. "I came back." I said. "Well, obviously!" Mush replied. "Does your dad know you're here?"

"No..." He gave me a confused look. "I... snuck out of the carriage while he was asleep." I replied, keeping my gaze down. "Hannah!" He said loudly. "Shhh!!" I warned him again.

"Hannah..." he whispered this time. "Why'd you do that? He's gonna be so worried!" I nodded. "I know... I had to see you though." I replied.

"Why?" He asked, tilting his head to the side. "Because I couldn't leave without telling you something." I whispered. "You ran away and came all the way here just to tell me something?" he asked in disbelief. I nodded. "Well, what is it?" he whispered. I looked up towards him and we locked eye contact. "Just thought you should know that love you." I told him. A smile spread across Mush's face. He stared at me for a second before he pulled me towards him and kissed me.

He broke the kiss for a second and smiled. "Hannah, that was so stupid, not to mention dangerous...You know how much trouble you're gonna get into?" he whispered against my lips. I smiled. "I know... But you're worth it."

---------

Mush and I decided we needed to get out of there. Before the newsies woke up or before my dad came to find me. I knew I would have to go back. But I wasn't ready yet. I wanted to spend as much time with Mush as I could.

We climbed out the window so we didn't have to risk waking Kloppman. When we were out and back on the ground, we headed for Central Park.

It was completely deserted. People didn't start going there until around 9:00, and it was only 5 AM. The sun was starting to rise as we walked through the park both silent. We found an area that was shaded by a few trees. Mush sat down against one of the trees. He motioned for me to come sit down.  
I sat in front of Mush with my back to him. He wrapped his arms around me and pulled me towards him so I was leaning against him. I tilted my head backwards so it rested on his shoulder. We were quiet for a while. Neither of us knew what to say.

"You didn't have to come back, you know..." he said, breaking the silence. I shrugged and closed my eyes. "I couldn't leave without telling you that." I replied. He paused for a second. "I guess already knew." He said, laughing a little.

I smiled, but kept my eyes closed. I could feel him shuffle slightly and lean his head closer to me. He kissed me lightly on the lips and pulled away after a second.

I didn't want that to end. If I could I would stay in Manhattan with Mush forever. Before he found me in that alleyway, I felt like a misfit. Everywhere I went I knew I didn't fit in. But when he held me in his arms like he was doing then, I felt like that was the only place I was supposed to be.

"Sketch! Mush!" I opened my eyes. Blink ran up to us out of breath. "You... I've been looking... for you... everywhere." He said in between gasps for air.

Mush stood up and helped me to my feet. When we were both standing, he still continued clutching onto my hand. "What's going on?" he asked. I already knew what it was before Kid Blink said a word. "Sketch's dad... He's at the lodging house. We woke up and you was gone, and soon after Sketch's dad showed up looking for her... He's going crazy."

I dropped Mush's hand. "I better go back there." I said. "I'm comin' with you." Mush said. "I think it's better if you didn't... He's gonna be real mad." He shook his head. "I don't care." He replied.

Mush's Point of View

"Okay... here goes." She said, taking a deep breath. We were standing outside the door to the lodging house. I could hear footsteps against the wood coming from inside. Hannah's father was pacing up and down the lobby.

"I don't wanna go, Mush..." she said. She bit her lip and tried to stay calm. "I know, Hannah..." I whispered. "But I don't think either of us have a choice."

I took her hands in mine and kissed her forehead. "Might as well get dis over with, huh?" I said, trying to smile. She nodded and put her hand on the doorknob, turning it.

The lobby was empty except for Kloppman and Hannah's dad. I guessed everyone else was out selling. The door creaked open. Kloppman looked up from his desk and Hannah's father whirled around.

"Hannah!" he exclaimed, running towards her. He pulled her into a tight hug, practically smothering her. When he finally let go, he held her out at arms length. His facial expression got real serious.

"Do you know how worried I was!? When I woke up and didn't find you in that carriage... I... I didn't know what to think!" He yelled. Hannah looked over at me. I stood awkwardly near the open door with my hands in my pockets. Following his daughter's gaze, Hannah's father noticed me for the first time.

He sighed and took his hands off her shoulder. "I assume this is the reason you came back here." He said, gesturing to me and looking back at Hannah. She nodded slowly, keeping her eyes towards the floor.

"Excuse me... uh..." His voice faded out. "Mush." I said quietly. He raised one of his eyebrows and continued. "Uh, alright... Mush. Do you mind if I speak alone with my daughter for a while?" I stared at Hannah and tried to swallow the lump in my throat. After a few seconds, I nodded and stepped outside. I closed the door behind me and sat on the stoop. I let my head drop into my hands.

I could still hear the muffled yelling coming from behind the door. "The driver had no idea where you were, so I assumed you were off on your own! Hannah, alone at night!?" He yelled.

"Dad... I..." She said softly. "You didn't even know where you were going!! What were you thinking!?" He interrupted. "Please dad, just..." I could hear in her voice that she was choking back tears. "No. Never mind that for the moment. We're leaving. Right now. " he said, his mind obviously made up. Hannah began to protest, but her words were too hard to make out through her crying.

I couldn't stand this anymore. Hearing him yell at her, but most of all hearing her cry. I stood up from the stairs and jumped down them. I turned at the bottom of the stairs. I shoved my hands back in my pockets and walked down the street.

------

"Hey... Mush, wait up." I heard a voice from behind me. Although I didn't look up, I knew who it was.

He was, after all, my best friend and his voice was unmistakable. Racetrack ran and caught up with me. He started walking by my side.

"Heya Mush." He said. He had sympathy in his voice, so I guessed Blink told him what happened. I sighed. "Hey Race." I replied.

"So... She's leavin' then, huh?" he asked softly, studying my facial expression. I shook my head and inhaled. "Yeah Race. She's leavin'." I whispered. "You'se gonna be okay?" He asked me. I nodded slowly.

"Okay, Mush..." He said, understanding I was in no mood to talk to anyone. "If ya need me, you knows where to find me." He replied, patting my back and walking off the other way. "Thanks Race." I called over my shoulder.

I continued walking down the sidewalk. I didn't bother to look up and see where I was going. I just kept moving and kept my head down.

I watched my feet on the cobblestone and let my mind wander. I didn't see a way around this situation. Her father made up his mind, and didn't seem too keen on changing it.

I would be willing to go anywhere for her if I could. The thought of going with her flowed through my mind. But Pennsylvania? I had been selling papes for a living since I was a little kid. It was all I knew how to do, and as far as I knew there were few, if any, newsies in Pennsylvania.

I was snapped out of my thoughts when someone crashed into me. I was surprised since I wasn't looking where I was going. "Woah, sorry... I didn't mean to..."

I stopped talking immediately. It was Hannah. She had her face buried in my shirt and she was grasping my collar. "Hannah..." I whispered, wrapping my arms around her.

She looked up at me. Her face was tear-streaked and she was breathing heavily like she had been sprinting. I looked closely at her, and I saw her eyes sparkle. Slowly, a smile crept across her face.

Hannah's Point of View

I dried the last dish and placed it on the pile beside the sink. Turning off the faucet, I wiped my hands dry with the dish towel. Then, Tossing it onto the counter, I stepped out of the kitchen door.

"Dad!" I yelled down the hall. "The dishes are done...I'm going now!" I said. I waited a moment to hear his response. "Alright, Sweetie. Be careful and be home before 10." I heard him shout from his bedroom.

I took my jacket off the coat stand and put it on. Lifting my hair out of the back of the jacket, I closed the door behind me.

I shivered as I stepped outside. Summer had finally ended, and it was halfway through autumn. I could see my breath in front of me as I walked, and the few leaves crunched underneath my feet.

Although it was only about 3 blocks, I was chilled by the time I got there. I knocked on the door and waited a few minutes, but no one answered. Slowly opening the door, I peeked inside. Seeing no one at the desk, I thought, _Hmm... He must have gone to bed early. _

Shutting the front door behind me, I climbed the wooden stairs. The door was open when I got to the top, and they were all sitting in a circle playing cards at the far end of the room.

Mush looked up. He was the only one to notice me leaning against the door frame since he was the only one facing the door. I smiled at him. He smiled back and dropped his cards in the middle of the circle. "I'm out..." he said, standing up.

"Whadda ya, crazy!? That's a good hand!" Race said, examining the cards Mush had just dropped. "Yeah, but me goil's hear." Mush said, smiling wider and stepping over the newsies sitting on the floor. The guys' heads turned towards the door. "Oh, hey Sketch!" They said, laughing. "How ya been?"

I nodded. "Pretty good." I replied. "The new apartment's taking a lot of getting used to... Nothing like this place. But I like it, I guess." The guys' attention turned back to their poker game. I walked towards Mush and he pulled me in for a hug. "Missed you." He whispered, his face next to mine.

I laughed. "I saw you yesterday night." I replied. He shrugged. "Doesn't mean I can't still miss you." He broke the hug and smiled at me. Mush took my hand and led me over to his bunk. I sat down next to him and rested my head on his chest.

"You gonna sell with us tomorrow?" he asked. I shrugged. "I dunno, why not." I said. Even though I didn't really need the money, once in a while I would sell papes with the newsies. I missed it. It was a hobby to us more than it was a living.

Mush swiped the hair out of my face. "So you never told me why your fadda gave in to staying in Manhattan." He said. I closed my eyes and sighed. "I don't exactly know..." My mom came to my mind. "Guess he knows what it feels like to have to lose someone you love."

Even though my eyes were closed, I could tell Mush nodded. My dad had given in to letting me stay in the city. Like I said before, I wasn't too sure why. He never explained it. But I guess my mom was the reason.

I went back to Pennsylvania with my dad to help him pack up his things. It took a few months, but we were finally living in a nice apartment that my dad and I had painted and fixed up. I made sure it was a few blocks away from the lodging house so I could see Mush and the other guys when I wanted.  
So everything was perfect now.

I could tell Mush was staring at me and I looked up at him. "What?" I asked, half laughing. He shook his head and blushed. "Nothing..." he said, smiling. "I just didn't think I could love anyone as much as I love ya."

I smiled and brought my head up to his. "I love you, too." I whispered. He smiled and I kissed him, putting my hand behind his neck.

We heard a chorus of "awwww's" coming from the newsies. I opened one of my eyes to see that they were all watching us instead of their card game. They all had smirks on their faces. Without breaking away from Mush, I grabbed a nearby pillow and chucked it at them.

They laughed and I closed my eyes again, putting my other hand on his shoulder. Did I say that everything was perfect now? Scratch that. Those guys never grow up. Still, they were my best friends. I guess it comes with being a Newsie.

THE END.

So now you guys know where my newsie-fanfiction-writingness started out. Thanks to everyone who read and reviewed over the course of this story. ::Hugs for all of you::

Now that this one is done, am I posting another...? C'mon, Would I ever let my fellow newsie-lovers down!?

Maybe.

Just kidding. No, I wouldn't. I should have another newsie fanfiction out really soon.


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